OLD  TESTAMENT 
PROPHECY 


LIFE  AND  RELIGION  SERIES 

EDITED  BY 

FRANK  K.  SANDERS 

AND 

HENRY  A.  SHERMAN 


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CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 


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LIFE  AND  RELIGION  SERIES 

EDITED   BY 

FRANK  K.  SANDERS 

AND 

HENRY  A.  SHERMAN 


OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 


LIFE  AND  RELIGION  SERIES 

EDITED    BY 

FRANK   K.    SANDERS 

AND 

HENRY   A.    SHERMAN 


Concise  handbooks  for  those  who,  either  as  individuals 
or  in  colleges,  in  community  schools  of  religion,  or  in 
Bible  classes,  desire  a  proper  foundation  for  the  more 
detailed  study  of  the  Bible  or  of  related  subjects. 

VOLUMES 

Old  Testament  History.     {In  -press) 
Old  Testament  Prophecy.     {Now  ready) 
Jesus  and  His  Teachings 
Beginnings  of  the  Christian  Church 
Historical  Development  of  Christianity 
Social  Ideals  and  Teachings  of  the  Bible 
The  World's  Living  Religions 
The  Ideals  of  Christian  Citizenship 
The  Development  of  Modern  Missions 
The  Missionary  Approach  to  Life  and  Religion 
Other  volumes  to  be  announced 


Life  and  Religion  Series 

OLD    TESTAMENT 
PROPHECY 


.1  %i^'-: 

BY  

FRANK  KNIGHT  SANDERS,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

SOMETIME   WOOL8ET    PROFESSOR   OF    BIBLICAL   LITERATURE 

IN    TALE    UNIVERSITT 

DIRECTOR    OF   THE   BOARD    OF   MISSIONARY    PEEPABATION 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1921 


COPTBIQHT,   1921,  BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  August,  1921 


THE   8CRIBNER   PRESS 


PREFACE 

The  aim  of  this  volume  is  to  furnish  an  accurate 
survey  of  the  whole  prophetic  material  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  a  correct  foundation  for  religious  think- 
ing. The  outlines  show  the  historical  development 
and  the  gradual  upward  trend  of  prophetic  teaching 
to  its  culmination  in  the  interpretation  of  rehgion  as  a 
missionary  enterprise.  The  volume  is  entirely  reada- 
ble, yet  it  is  so  arranged  that  it  may  be  used  as  a 
text-book  for  college  classes,  Bible  classes,  teacher 
training  classes  in  community  schools  of  religion  and 
elsewhere,  furnishing  the  essential  data  for  profitable 
discussion. 

The  Appendix  furnishes  apparatus  for  the  aid  of 
the  teacher  or  class  leader.  Every  reader  can  test  his 
grasp  of  Old  Testament  prophecy  by  answering  the 
questions  in  the  third  section  of  the  Appendix.  For 
classroom  discussions  the  suggested  topics  in  Appendix 
IV  will  be  found  useful.  No  questions  are  raised  that 
cannot  reasonably  be  discussed  by  those  using  this 
book.  The  first  four  volumes  of  the  series  of  which 
this  is  a  part  give  a  correct  perspective  for  both  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testament.  Each  volume,  however, 
is  complete  in  itself. 

V 


vi  PREFACE 

No  one  should  expect  that  the  study  of  so  small  a 
volume  will  afford  a  mastery  of  prophetic  literature. 
This  book  has  a  less  pretentious  but  more  useful  aim. 
It  will  lay  a  secure  basis  for  an  appreciation  of  the 
nature  and  value  of  prophecy,  for  its  intelligent  inter- 
pretation, and  for  its  Ufelong  enjoyment. 

The  Editors. 

July,  1921. 


CONTENTS 


PAQE 

Introductory 1 

I.    The  First  Literary  Prophet 7 

II.  The    Two    Prophets    of    the    Next    Two 

Decades 13 

III.  The  Two  Prophets  of  the  Reign  of  Heze- 

KIAH       22 

IV.  The  Two  Prophets  of  the  Reform  Move- 

ment OF  Josiah's  Reign 29 

V.    The  Three  Prophets  of  Jehoiakim's  Reign      35 

VI.    The  Messages  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel    .       41 

VII.    The  Great  Prophet  of  the  Early  Exile  .       48 

VIII.    The  High- Water  Mark  of  Prophetic  Think- 
ing            53 

IX.     The  Two  Prophets  of  the  Building  of  the 

Second  Temple      59 

X.     The  Prophets  of  Community  Reform  Just 

Preceding  Nehemiah  (About  450  B.  C.)    .       66 

XI.    Prophetic-Apocalyptic    Voices     of    Later 

Times 72 

Xn.    A  General  Review  of  Hebrew  Prophecy  .      77 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

Appendix — 

FAOS 

I.   GENERAL  REFERENCE  LITERATURE  FOR 

FURTHER  STUDY 91 

n.   REFERENCE   LITERATURE   FOR   EACH 

STUDY 94 

in.      QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW 97 

IV.      SUBJECTS     FOR    RESEARCH     AND     CLASS 

DISCUSSION 100 


OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 


INTRODUCTORY 

To  one  who  has  gained  a  reasonable  familiarity  with 
Old  Testament  history  the  study  of  the  prophetical 
literature  of  the  Old  Testament  in  its  proper  historical 
sequence  will  be  a  fascinating  and  richly  rewarding 
task.  The  prophets  were  the  real  leaders  of  Hebrew 
religious  thinking.  Through  them  came  the  gradual 
shaping  of  that  thinking  into  so  satisfactory  an  inter- 
pretation of  God,  man,  and  the  universe  that  it  gained 
an  almost  universal  recognition  as  the  best  construc- 
tive religious  platform  ever  developed  in  the  ages 
before  Christ.  It  was  a  long  and  slow  process  over 
many  centuries.  Whoever  desires  to  gain  a  working 
grasp  of  the  heart  of  the  Old  Testament  must  acquire 
a  comprehensive  knowledge  in  their  proper  sequence 
of  these  prophetic  records,  found  in  the  Old  Testament 
books  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  and  must  understand 
their  outstanding  ideas.  Such  a  knowledge  will  be- 
come a  reliable  basis  for  the  more  intensive  study  of 
portions  of  the  prophetic  declarations,  which  may  be 
necessary  as  a  preliminary  to  their  most  effective  use 
and  to  a  full  recognition  of  their  exact  values  in  sup- 
plementing and  illuminating  the  historical  Old  Tes- 
tament records  and  in  shaping  the  upward  social  and 
religious  growth  of  the  Hebrew  people. 

The  student  will  quickly  discover  that  the  prophets, 
at  least  the  best  of  them,  were  social  reformers  and 
statesmen  quite  as  distinctively  as  preachers  about 

1 


2  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

God  and  His  world.  In  their  mind  life  did  not  exist 
in  compartments.  A  truer  idea  of  God  compelled  men 
who  were  loyal  to  Him  to  readjust  their  social  and 
political  procedure.  The  analogue  to-day  of  a  prophet 
is  the  fearless  Christian  preacher  trained  to  have  a 
vision  of  what  must  be  done,  if  the  principles  and 
spirit  of  our  Lord  are  to  regulate  the  life  of  to-day. 
The  prophet  spoke  for  God  to  man,  interpreting  His 
will.  He  was  designated  variously  as  a  "seer"  (I  Sam- 
uel 9  :  9),  a  "man  of  God"  (I  Kings  17  :  18),  as  a  "serv- 
ant" of  God  (Isaiah  20  :  3),  as  an  "interpreter"  (Isaiah 
43  :  27,  margin)  or  as  a  "watchman"  (Ezekiel  3  :  17), 

A  true  prophet  was  always  far  in  advance  of  his 
age,  otherwise  he  could  not  have  been  a  religious  dis- 
coverer. He  was  a  man  of  holy  visions,  whose  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  an  unrealized  future,  yet,  like  Colum- 
bus, he  equipped  a  good,  stout  ship  in  which  to  make 
the  venture.  The  prophet  was  also  a  man  of  his  own 
generation,  interested  primarily  in  its  reformation  and 
inspiration  to  loftier  service,  holding  up  the  ideal 
future  as  something  which  served  as  an  understand- 
able goal.  The  more  these  great  leaders  and  their 
writings  are  studied,  the  less  do  they  appear  as  men 
who  existed  for  the  mere  purpose  of  declaring  some- 
thing in  God's  name  about  a  future  which  was  beyond 
the  human  experience  of  the  prophet's  age,  although 
the  prediction  of  an  assured  religious  future  was  very 
generally  one  of  the  methods  which  they  used  for  im- 
pressing upon  their  constituencies  a  definite  present 
obligation  of  duty.  This  task  of  prediction  was 
auxiliary  to  their  predominating  task  of  making  their 
people  more  righteous,  more  obedient,  more  responsive 
to  God,  more  conscious  of  His  real  nature  and  of  His 
place  in  their  affairs.  It  helped  to  magnify  God's 
power  and  purpose  and  to  impress  men's  minds  with 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

the  continuity  of  His  plans  for  the  world.  It  is  their 
intensively  earnest  emphasis  upon  every-day  religion 
and  morality  which  makes  their  writings  helpful  and 
stimulating  for  every  age. 

No  one  can  gain  a  right  impression  of  these  remark- 
able leaders  of  religious  thinking,  or  of  their  contribu- 
tions, unless  the  prophetic  records  are  readjusted  into 
a  proper  sequence  for  study.  The  prophetic  writings, 
major  and  minor,  as  we  find  them  in  the  English  Bible, 
are  not  arranged  in  their  true  chronological  order. 
Isaiah  is  probably  the  third  in  order  instead  of  being 
the  first;  Jeremiah  the  sixth  instead  of  the  second; 
Amos  the  first,  not  the  seventh.  Malachi  is  by  no 
means  the  latest  of  the  group.  No  one  knows  to-day 
on  what  principle  these  writings  were  arranged  by  the 
scribal  editors  of  the  second  or  third  century  before 
Christ,  but  unquestionably  it  was  not  the  principle  of 
historical  sequence.  In  the  following  studies  the  proc- 
ess of  establishing  a  specific  sequence  involves  many 
minor  decisions,  regarding  which  some  students  of 
prophecy  may  differ  from  the  editors,  yet  the  order 
adopted  represents  the  general  conclusions  on  which 
students  who  are  not  extreme  in  opinion  are  fairly 
agreed.  No  student  of  Old  Testament  prophecy  can 
doubt  that  such  books  as  Isaiah,  Micah,  Jeremiah, 
and  Zechariah  show  clearly  that  they  include  material 
related  to  the  thinking  and  experience  of  more  than 
one  generation.  Such  differing  sections  of  the  respec- 
tive books  are  studied  below  in  connection  with  the 
age  to  which  they  carried  a  message.  Since  this  series 
of  studies  is  general  in  aim  rather  than  intensive,  the 
minor  intricacies  of  critical  judgment  are  ignored,  lest 
they  should  prove  merely  confusing.  These  studies  do 
not  take  the  place  of  a  first-rate  commentary  or  text- 
book, but  hope  to  serve  as  an  illuminating  introduction 


4  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

to  a  later,  closely  detailed,  exacting  but  fruitful  study 
of  any  particular  prophetic  utterance  or  period. 

A  consideration  of  the  uniqueness  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  is  reserved  until  the  closing  chapter,  after  the 
data  are  all  in  hand.  It  may  be  helpful  to  call  atten- 
tion at  the  outset  to  the  undeniable  fact  that  the 
Hebrew  prophetic  order  grew  out  of  conditions  very 
definitely  paralleled  in  other  nations  of  the  same  class 
and  period.  All  early  religions  had  some  method  of 
getting  at  the  will  of  the  gods,  partly  by  the  various 
methods  of  necromancy,  partly  through  the  supposedly 
inspired  utterances  or  conclusions  of  those  who  could 
throw  themselves  into  a  state  of  ecstasy  or  trance. 
We  have  no  means  of  judging  the  methods  employed 
by  Miriam  (Exodus  15  :  20),  Balaam  (Numbers  22-24), 
or  even  Deborah  (Judges  4:4).  In  the  last  case,  as 
well  as  in  that  of  Abraham  (Genesis  20:7),  the  pro- 
phetical task  is  not  made  perfectly  clear  by  the  con- 
text. Perhaps  Abraham,  like  Moses  (Deuteronomy 
34: 10),  was  so  known  to  posterity  because  each  had  to 
do  with  the  beginnings  of  a  Hebrew  religious  conscious- 
ness. One  who  traces  the  history  of  the  development 
of  the  prophetic  order  among  the  Hebrews  reaches  firm 
ground  in  the  days  of  Samuel.  That  leader  was  recog- 
nized by  the  Hebrew  people  as  one  through  whom 
Jehovah  could  communicate  His  will  (I  Samuel  3  :  20). 
Samuel  had  a  personality  of  transforming  power. 
Under  his  leadership  groups  of  young  men  who  may 
have  been  religious  enthusiasts  or  merely  patriotic  in  pur- 
pose were  gradually  organized  (I  Samuel  9:5-10: 13; 
19 :  18-24)  into  a  sort  of  brotherhood  and  brought 
under  some  sort  of  control.  Other  leaders  developed, 
such  as  Gad  (I  Samuel  22 : 5) .  Soothsayers  still  ex- 
isted (I  Samuel  28 : 6-25),  who  were  consulted  by  the 
people,  but  when  men  of  such  evident  strength  and 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

sanity  as  Nathan  and  Gad  were  both  the  leaders  of 
such  a  brotherhood  and  devoted  counsellors  of  David 
(II  Samuel  7:1-17;  12:1-15;  24:11-14;  I  Kings 
1 :  8-40),  they  rapidly  attained  great  influence  through- 
out the  kingdom.  Under  such  sane,  dignified  leader- 
ship as  they  could  give  it  is  easy  to  understand  how 
the  prophetic  body  developed,  in  the  course  of  a  cen- 
tury or  so,  into  an  order  of  considerable  size  and  of 
much  social  influence  (I  Kings  18:4).  In  the  days  of 
Ahab  its  great  representatives  were  fearless  coun- 
sellors (I  Kings  20 :  13-15,  35-43)  and  keen  critics 
(I  Kings  21:17-26;  22:5-28)  in  matters  of  great 
import.  On  the  other  hand,  hundreds  of  members  of 
the  prophetic  order  were  easy-going  sycophants 
(I  Kings  22:  6).  The  prophet  Micaiah  told  Ahab  to 
his  face  that  many  of  those  who  thronged  his  court 
were  deliberate  liars  (I  Kings  22 :  23) ;  while  the 
prophet  Micah  drew  a  keen  contrast  between  all  such 
falsely  termed  prophets,  to  whom  their  position  was 
a  mere  means  of  an  easy  livelihood,  and  a  real  speaker 
for  God  (Micah  3:5-8). 

Elijah  and  Elisha  were  each  remarkable  men.  The 
former  was  the  more  of  a  leader.  He  had  wonderful 
courage.  Almost  single-handed  he  stood  for  righteous- 
ness and  for  national  loyalty  to  Jehovah.  Elisha  was 
better  fitted  to  carry  the  program  through.  He  was 
closer  to  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Such  prophets 
made  the  order  great. 

Whatever  the  actual  course  of  the  development  of 
the  prophetic  order,  in  the  ninth  century  B.  C.  it  had 
become  a  very  real  and  important  factor  in  the  social 
and  religious  life  of  the  Hebrew  peoples,  playing  a  part 
in  friendly  relations  with  the  people  not  unlike  that  of 
the  friars  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Some  of  these  prophets 
were  real  saints,  respected  and  beloved  as  upholders  of 


6  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

the  teachings  and  service  of  Jehovah.  Others,  all  too 
many  of  them,  were  corrupt,  lazy,  and  unspiritual, 
becoming  members  of  the  order  to  gain  an  easy  liveli- 
hood. Such  a  mingling  of  worthy  and  unworthy  mem- 
bers has  characterized  every  great  movement  in  his- 
tory. The  fact  that  the  unworthy  members  are  so 
often  criticized  sharply  by  prophetic  writers  is  a  very 
good  evidence  of  the  general  truthfulness  of  their 
records.  The  significant  fact  remains  that  within  the 
general  range  of  this  professional  group  of  social  and 
religious  advisers  there  developed  a  leadership  which 
not  only  differentiated  the  type  of  its  influence  from 
that  of  similar  groups  in  adjoining  lands,  but  which 
also  rendered  to  the  Hebrew  people  and  through  them 
to  the  world  of  our  day  an  incomparable  service. 


THE  FIRST  LITERARY  PROPHET 

Amos  the  Herdsman  (About  745  B.  C.) 

From  the  days  of  David  and  Solomon  onward  there 
is  abundant  evidence  that  one  increasingly  important 
public  function,  performed,  as  a  rule,  by  members  of  the 
prophetic  order,  was  that  of  historical  composition. 
The  prophets — some  of  them,  at  least — had  the  requi- 
site leisure  and  education  for  literary  tasks.  Whether 
the  official  chroniclers  of  the  cabinets  of  David 
(II  Samuel  8  :  16;  20  :  24)  and  of  Solomon  (I  Kings  4  :  3) 
and  his  successors,  who  kept  the  records  which  are  at 
the  basis  of  the  books  of  Kings  (I  Kings  14 :  19,  29  and 
after),  were  of  the  prophetic  order  there  is  no  sure 
means  of  determining.  It  is  regarded  as  highly  prob- 
able, however,  that  the  vivid  narratives  of  early  Old 
Testament  history  which  describe  the  days  of  the 
patriarchs,  the  career  of  Moses,  the  stirring  episodes 
of  the  days  of  the  judges,  the  rapid  development  of  the 
times  of  Samuel,  Saul,  David,  and  Solomon,  and  of 
Elisha  and  Elijah  are  to  be  credited  to  men  of  the 
prophetic  view-point.  It  is  no  less  probable  that  the 
writers  who  wrought  these  groups  of  narratives  into 
the  stirring  histories  of  Israel's  growth  which  we  know 
as  the  books  of  Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  were  men 
of  this  type.  History  writing,  then  as  now,  was  a 
ready  and  important  method  of  preaching. 

To  minds  familiar  with  such  history,  and  trained, 
possibly,  in  producing  it,  the  transition  from  such  oral 

7 


8  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

instruction  as  a  religious  adviser,  as  it  is  natural 
to  credit  to  a  Nathan,  an  Elijah,  an  Elisha,  or  an 
Amos,  to  the  practice  of  recording  the  essential  sub- 
stance of  such  instruction  or  appeal,  and  of  giving  this 
circulation  in  written  form,  would  not  be  very  great. 
The  messages  would  merely  need  to  have  a  nation- 
wide appeal  and  to  be  a  challenge  to  the  continuing 
thinking  and  habits  of  a  whole  people.  A  situation 
suited  to  the  initiation  of  such  a  transition  in  method 
presented  itself  in  the  eighth  century  B.  C.  toward  the 
close  of  the  splendid  reigns  over  Israel  and  Judah  of 
the  two  notable  sovereigns,  Jeroboam  II  and  Uzziah. 

I.    The  Situation  which  Stirred  the  Soul  of  Amos. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  first  of  the  new  order 
of  prophets  to  appear  in  public  was  Amos.  From  the 
historical  and  prophetic  records  of  this  period  emerges 
a  situation  which  accounts  satisfactorily  for  the  sud- 
den appearance  of  a  righteous  individualist,  such  as 
Amos  seems  to  have  been,  to  interpret  the  apparent 
success  and  glory  of  his  age  in  searching  terms  of 
morality  and  religion. 

First  of  all,  the  lengthy  and  very  prosperous  reigns 
of  Jeroboam  and  Uzziah  had  been  days  of  peace,  per- 
mitting the  rapid  acquisition  of  riches  by  those  who 
were  in  positions  of  influence,  and  promoting  the  break- 
ing down  of  the  earher  democracy  of  society  and  sim- 
plicity of  Hfe  which  could  no  longer  be  maintained. 
Social  injustice,  careless  rulers,  arrogant  leaders,  legal 
unfairness,  and  the  consequent  crop  of  social  evils 
seemed  uncontrolled.  There  was  much  vulgar  dis- 
play and  luxury,  an  unequal  distribution  of  wealth, 
and  vast  social  discontent. 

Nominally,  however,  the  people  were  as  loyal  as 
ever  to  Jehovah.    Whenever  business  did  not  interfere. 


AMOS  9 

even  the  wealthy  and  proud  were  ready  to  keep  up 
reUgious  observances.  Religion  was  not  regarded  by 
many,  however,  as  something  which  should  have  the 
right  of  way  in  life.  The  leaders  of  society  seemed 
money  mad  and  pleasure  bent.  They  had  wealth  and 
power,  using  each  unscrupulously.  The  poor  and  weak 
had  to  endure  with  fortitude  or  patience  what  came 
their  way. 

Yet,  behind  this  apparent  breakdown  of  social  and 
religious  standards  were  the  old  religious  fundamental 
conceptions,  as  old  as  Moses,  to  which  a  prophet  could 
appeal.  It  was  the  reinforcement  of  these  inbred  con- 
victions regarding  Jehovah  that  gave  the  four  prophets 
of  the  next  half -century  their  wonderful  power  to  reach 
the  hearts  of  sinful,  hard-hearted  men  and  women. 

But  a  second  influence  came  to  the  help  of  these 
men  of  God  who  were  seeking  to  stir  the  social  con- 
science of  the  Hebrew  peoples.  A  menace  had  ap- 
peared in  the  far  North  which  brought  a  chill  to  patri- 
otic hearts  in  Israel  and  Judah.  It  was  still  only  a 
distant  menace,  yet  a  very  real  one.  Assyria,  the  con- 
quering nation  which  had  levied  tribute  upon  Omri 
and  Ahab  and  had,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, broken  the  power  of  the  Syrian  kingdom  whose 
capital  was  Damascus,  was  once  more  pushing  its  way 
steadily  southward  from  the  region  of  Carchemish 
with  a  vigor,  fierceness,  and  success  that  was  appalling. 
Damascus  was  still  a  buffer  state,  but  men  wondered 
how  long  before  it  would  be  absorbed  by  the  insatiable 
conqueror  and  the  southern  boundary  of  Assyria  be- 
come the  northern  boundary  of  Israel.  The  ruling 
classes  in  Israel  and  Judah  put  their  trust  in  Jehovah, 
regarding  their  protection  as  His  business,  as  long  as 
they  kept  up  generously  His  sacrifices  and  holy  days 
(Amos  4:4,  5).    The  overwhelming  of  the  two  He- 


10  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

brew  peoples  by  the  Assyrian  foe  seemed  to  mean  an 
entire  loss  of  their  confidence  in  Jehovah,  a  religious 
collapse.  It  was  the  masterly  reinterpretation  of  the 
whole  situation  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  it  had 
come  to  be  Jehovah's  duty  to  bring  this  calamity  to 
pass  that  saved  Israel's  faith  in  Him  and  initiated  a 
new  departure  in  religion. 

2.    What  Made  Amos  a  Prophet. 

Amos  declared  that  he  was  not  a  professional  prophet 
(7 :  14),  but  a  farmer,  an  intelligent  peasant  landowner 
with  a  mind  of  his  own.  He  was  one  of  the  sturdy, 
independent,  self-respecting  citizenry  who  were  the 
secret  of  the  vigor  of  the  Hebrew  race.  He  lived  at 
Tekoa,  not  far  from  Bethel  or  Samaria,  where  he  might 
have  gone  to  sell  his  produce  to  the  Phoenician  traders. 
He  had  evidently  pondered  long  and  thoughtfully  upon 
the  social  evils  of  his  day  and  observed  the  wide  dif- 
ference between  the  religious  professions  of  the  people 
and  the  actual  measure  of  their  service  to  God,  until 
he  felt  an  irresistible  impulse,  which  he  ascribed  to 
Jehovah,  to  give  public  expression  to  his  convictions. 
Choosing,  apparently,  the  date  of  some  great  feast 
which  brought  great  throngs  together  at  Bethel,  Amos 
delivered  publicly  a  series  of  brief  but  telling  sermons 
to  the  Northern  Israelites,  which  unquestionably 
searched  the  hearts  of  his  listeners.  Coming  from  an 
outsider,  his  stinging  rebukes  were  bitterly  resented  by 
the  leaders  of  the  northern  kingdom  (7 :  10-13).  Amos 
was  probably  compelled  to  leave  the  scene  and  cross 
the  border.  Later,  either  he  or  some  disciple  reduced 
the  substance  of  his  sermons  to  written  form  for  more 
general  circulation.  It  is  reasonable  to  think  that 
they  were  widely  read  and  that  they  influenced  both 
Hosea  and  the  youthful  Isaiah. 


AMOS  11 

3.  His   Messages   to   the   People   of   the   Northern 

Kingdom. 
These  can  best  be  appreciated  by  a  thoughtful  read- 
ing of  the  book  of  Amos,  guided  by  the  outline  below. 
The  book,  as  we  have  it,  contains  the  substance  of  a 
series  of  public  addresses. 

The  superscription  of  the  editor.     Amos  1:1. 

The  prophet's  text:  Jehovah's  voice  is  uplifted  in  judgment.     1 :  2. 

Jehovah  must  punish  Israel's  seven  neighbor  nations  for  their 

cruelty,  greed,  inhumanity,  and  disobedience.     1 :  3-2 :  5. 
Israel  will  be  likewise  held  responsible  for  injustice,  oppression, 

unchastity,   greed,   and  the  suppression  of  truth.     None  can 

escape  the  divine  wrath.     2  :  6-16. 
Israel's  relationship  to  Jehovah  makes  it  the  more  necessary  for 

Amos  to  denounce  her.     3  :  1-8. 
Samaria's  corruption  would  shock  a  Philistine  or  an  Egyptian. 

Her  punishment  will  be  terribly  severe.     3 :  9-15. 
Her  great  ladies,  so  frivolous  and  extravagant,  will  march  away 

as  captives.     4  :  1-3. 
Israel's  religion  is  but  transgression.     She  has  ignored  Jehovah's 

many  hints  to  repent:  hunger,  drought,  the  locust,  a  pestilence. 

Be  warned  !     The  judgment  will  be  sweeping.     4  :  4-5  :  3. 
Israel  might  repent,  but  has  gone  too  far  in  selfish  wickedness. 

5 : 4-17. 
The  day  of  Jehovah  will  not  be  a  day  of  deliverance  but  of  bitter 

exile.     5 :  18-27. 
Those  who  persist  in  social  selfishness  are  doomed.     They  will 

vainly  seek  Jehovah.     6  :  1-14;  8  :  4-14. 
Five  visions  of  Israel's  impending  fate:  the  locust  plague,  the 

devouring  fire,  the  wall  out  of  plumb,  the  over-ripe  fruit,  and 

the  shattered  altar.     7  :  1-9;  8  :  1-3;  9  :  1-4. 
Amaziah's   attempt   to   expel   Amos   and   the   prophet's    reply. 

7 : 10-17. 
Jehovah's  inescapable  judgment.     9  :  5-8a. 
[The  scattering  in  exile  will,  however,  be  but  a  sifting  out  of  the 

good  grain.     Eventually  the  Davidic  dynasty  will  be  supreme, 

and  returned  Israel  will  be  prosperous  and  happy.     9  :  8b-15.]^ 

4.  The  Distinctive  Ideas  of  Amos. 

One  who  reads  with  care  these  messages  of  Amos 
realizes  clearly  that  the  prophet  is  declaring  (1)  that 

'The  use  of  brackets  means  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  editors,  the  passage 
should  be  regarded  as  a  later  addition. 


12  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

Jehovah  is  a  righteous  Being,  one  who  cannot  over- 
look the  social  sins  which  wreck  society  and  counter- 
act religion;  (2)  that  He  expects  His  people  to  be 
righteous,  showing  it  in  deeds  of  goodness;  (3)  that 
Israel  is  hopelessly  corrupt,  shameless,  defiant,  and 
persistent;  (4)  that  she  has  ignored  divine  warnings 
and  is  unlikely  to  repent;  and  (5)  that  Jehovah  must 
bring  upon  her  a  sweeping  judgment  through  the  in- 
vasion of  an  army  from  the  north  (6: 14).  The  dec- 
laration of  9 :  8b-15  that  the  predicted  exile  would 
result  in  a  sifting  out  of  the  good  grain,  of  the  true 
Israel  which  would  be  restored  and  blessed,  must  be 
regarded  as  a  later  addition  to  the  original  book  of 
Amos,  which  closed  with  9 :  8a.  It  is  out  of  harmony 
with  the  sweeping  declarations  of  the  prophecy  as  a 
whole. 

5.    His  Power  and  Its  Limitations. 

Amos  affords  an  excellent  example  of  a  fact  which 
every  student  of  prophecy  should  keep  in  mind.  His 
messages  were  very  direct  and  powerful.  They  evi- 
dently made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  peoples  of 
each  kingdom.  Yet  he  was  a  man  of  one  idea.  He 
applied  the  test  of  essential  righteousness  rigidly  to 
daily  life.  Formal  acts  of  worship  offered  by  defiled 
hearts  he  declared  to  be  unacceptable  to  God.  That 
was  a  great  assertion.  It  registered  an  important 
stage  in  religious  thinking.  Persistence  in  sin  he  re- 
garded as  demanding  punishment.  Beyond  these  sim- 
ple principles  Amos  did  not  go.  It  would  be  rather 
unfair  to  expect  to  find  a  whole  theology  in  the  mind 
of  an  active  farmer.  However,  Amos  made  one  great, 
important  idea  stand  out  so  clearly  that  it  could 
neither  be  evaded  nor  forgotten.  This  was  a  great 
achievement. 


II 


THE  TWO  PROPHETS  OF  THE  NEXT  TWO 
DECADES 

HosEA  OF  Israel  and  the  Young  Isaiah  of 
JuDAH  (740-722  B.  C.) 

In  the  eighth  century  before  Christ,  as  now,  no  one 
personality  was  great  enough  to  be  God's  sole  channel 
of  the  truth  needed  by  a  people.  Amos  delivered  a 
clear-cut,  effective  message,  re-emphasizing  a  forgotten 
truth  of  great  importance,  yet  the  very  fact  that  such 
criticism  came  from  a  man  who  belonged  across  the 
border  in  Judah  may  have  been  enough  to  cause  many 
in  the  northern  kingdom  to  ignore  it.  Fortunately, 
there  was  in  that  northern  kingdom  a  kindred  soul, 
named  Hosea,  who  re-echoed  the  message  of  Amos  in 
his  own,  more  gracious  fashion;  and  still  another  in 
Judah,  a  young  prophet,  Isaiah,  who  with  yet  wider- 
ranging  vision  urged  repentance  and  reform  upon  his 
beloved  land  of  Judah  and  city  of  Jerusalem.  These 
two,  like  Amos,  realized  the  inexcusable  social  corrup- 
tion of  their  peoples  and  regarded  the  oncoming  Assyr- 
ian invader  as  the  agent  for  Jehovah's  use  in  arousing 
the  dormant  social  and  spiritual  conscience  of  each 
people. 

I.    Hosea  as  Compared  with  Amos. 

Hosea  was  evidently  a  man  of  considerable  culture. 
He  belonged  to  the  city  rather  than  the  country.  His 
means  of  support  we  may  only  conjecture;  perhaps  he 
was  independent.  He  loved  his  country  and  its  peo- 
ple, however  sharply  he  accused  them.    He  is  the  lov- 

13 


14  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

ing  critic,  an  insider,  a  contrast  in  every  way  to  Amos, 
the  blunt,  downright,  strong-willed  countryman  from 
across  the  border.  That  such  a  man  should  be  gripped 
by  the  same  impulse  to  interpret  the  situation  to  his 
fellow  citizens  as  he  saw  it  was  a  matter  of  good 
fortune  for  them  and  for  the  world. 

2.  How  Hosea  Became  a  Prophet. 

Hosea  answers  this  question  by  declaring  that 
Jehovah  directed  him  to  marry  an  unchaste  woman 
by  whom  he  had  three  children.  Probably  he  did  not 
know  her  real  character  at  the  outset,  because  he  gave 
her  his  whole  heart;  but  he  recognized,  later  on,  that 
the  impulse  to  marry  her  had  come  from  God.  His 
wife,  Gomer,  deserted  him,  dragging  his  honor  in  the 
mire.  She  clearly  deserved  to  be  treated  with  rigor, 
yet  he  could  not  help  continuing  to  love  her.  He 
found  himself  willing  to  forgive  her,  and,  on  repen- 
tance, to  take  her  back.  Somehow  it  flashed  over 
Hosea's  mind  that  what  was  true  of  him  must  be  even 
more  true  of  Jehovah,  and  that  Gomer's  unfaithful- 
ness was  paralleled  by  that  of  Israel  to  Israel's  God. 
Hosea  thus  grasped  a  wonderful  message.  He  became 
the  prophet  of  God's  inextinguishable  love  for  His  sin- 
ful people,  just  as  Amos  may  be  called  the  prophet  of 
divine  righteousness.  His  characterization  of  Jehovah 
as  Israel's  great-souled  husband  and  tender  guardian 
was  only  surpassed  by  the  thought,  as  our  Lord  gave 
it  expression,  of  God's  fatherhood. 

3.  His  Messages  to  His  Own  Countrymen. 
Hosea's  writings  are  far  less  intelligible  than  those 

of  Amos.  This  was  once  explained  by  saying  that 
Hosea  wept  as  he  wrote;  a  prosaic  but  more  probable 
reason  is  that  the  Hebrew  text  is  in  bad  condition. 


HOSEA  AND  ISAIAH  15 

The  reader  should  read  with  all  the  greater  care  since 
Hosea  well  repays  study.  His  prophetic  declarations 
are  a  true  gospel.  Every  great  thinker  echoed  them, 
even  Jesus. 

The  superscription  of  the  editor.     Hosea  1:1. 

Hosea  under  divine  direction  marries  an  unchaste  woman  by 
whom  he  has  three  children,  whose  names  convey  God's  atti- 
tude of  severe  displeasure  with  Israel.     1 :  2-9. 

[In  due  time  Israel  shall  be  restored  to  favor.     1 :  10-2 : 1.] 

Israel,  equally  faithless  to  her  husband,  Jehovah,  must  be  given 
a  disciplinary  experience.     2 :  2-13. 

But  Jehovah  will  woo  her  back  to  faithfulness  and  loyalty. 
2:14-23. 

Yet  as  Gomer  had  to  be  disciplined  in  seclusion,  so  Israel  will 
have  to  be  disciplined  by  exile.     3 :  1-5. 

The  flagrant,  incurable,  blunderingly  stubborn  wickedness  of 
Israel.     4 : 1-19. 

So  great  is  Israel's  ignorance  and  wilfulness  that  the  impend- 
ing judgment  of  Jehovah  cannot  be  averted.     5 : 1-14. 

Realizing  her  plight,  Israel  may  express  repentance,  but  it  will  be 
superficial  and  useless;  Jehovah  demands  real  goodness  and 
knowledge,  but  Israel's  corruption  is  deep-seated  and  univer- 
sal, most  of  all  at  court.     5  :  15-7  :  7. 

She  has  no  consistent  policy;  she  is  insincere  and  faithless;  her 
men-made  kings  are  impotent;  her  national  life  is  decadent. 
7:8-8:14. 

Exile,  the  destruction  of  her  idolatrous  shrines,  and  an  invasion 
of  armies  shall  be  her  lot.     9  :  1-10  :  15. 

Jehovah  has  been  a  loving,  tender  Father  and  humane  Master  to 
Israel;  she  is  imgrateful,  yet  He  passionately  longs  to  forgive 
her.     11:1-11. 

She  has  basely  requited  His  love  and  care.     11 :  12-12 :  14. 

Her  idolatry  and  her  forgetfulness  of  Jehovah  is  the  just  cause  of 
her  decay  and  ruin.     13 :  1-16. 

Israel,  repent  of  your  iniquity  and  pray  Jehovah  to  show  you  His 
loving-kindness.     14 :  1-3. 

His  answer  will  be  prompt,  generous,  and  effective.     14 : 4-8. 

An  editorial  "word  to  the  wise."     14  :  9. 

4.    The  New   and  Permanent  Element  in  Hosea's 
Messages. 
Hosea,  like  Amos,  was  unsparing  in  his  criticism  of 
the  national  life.     He  believed  that  it  was  doomed. 


16  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

The  state  was  to  come  to  an  end.  But  he  set  over 
against  that  act  of  justice  the  unchanging,  inextin- 
guishable love  of  Jehovah  for  His  people,  as  shown  in 
the  past,  and  the  character  of  His  desires.  These 
made  it  certain  that  the  punishment  would  not  be 
retributive  in  purpose,  but  redemptive  and  disci- 
plinary. Eventually  the  nation  would  repent,  be  for- 
given, and,  once  more,  enter  into  loving,  loyal  relation- 
ship with  Him.  These  three  ideas — the  character  of 
God  as  predominatingly  loving,  the  redemptive  pur- 
pose in  His  acts,  and  the  obedient  spirit  sure  to  mani- 
fest itself  eventually  in  Israel — carry  the  religious 
thinker  considerably  beyond  the  range  of  Amos's 
preaching.  These  ideas — love,  redemption,  and  obe- 
dience— strike  the  truly  spiritual  notes  in  rehgion. 

5.    Isaiah's  Call  to  Prophetic  Work  (Isaiah  6). 

Quite  possibly  Hosea,  when  he  felt  an  irresistible  im- 
pulse to  marry  Gomer,  was  not  aware  that  God  had 
called  him  to  be  His  prophet.  It  may  have  dawned 
upon  him  gradually  that  Jehovah  had  a  purpose  in 
leading  him  into  his  bitter  domestic  experience.  It 
was  otherwise  with  Isaiah.  He  knew  the  very  hour 
and  the  spot  when  God  laid  hold  upon  him  and  charged 
him  with  the  solemn  and  important  but  disheartening 
task  of  charging  his  fellow-Judeans  with  unrighteous- 
ness. It  was  during  the  last  year  of  the  reign  of  King 
Uzziah.  In  the  temple  Isaiah  had  a  splendid  vision  of 
Jehovah  enthroned  in  majesty,  the  Holy  One,  in  whose 
presence  he  felt  abased  and  unworthy  (6).  Comforted 
and  made  morally  fit,  Isaiah  responded  gladly  to 
Jehovah's  appeal  for  a  messenger  and  undertook  to 
convey  His  message  to  his  fellow  men.  It  was  to  be 
an  unacceptable  message  of  punitive  judgment,  he  was 
told,  one  against  which  men  would  harden  their  hearts. 


HOSEA  AND  ISAIAH  17 

Isaiah  was  a  complete  contrast  to  his  two  prede- 
cessors. He  was  a  man  who  loved  Jerusalem,  his  home 
city.  He  unquestionably  was  as  well  educated  as  a 
man  of  that  age  could  be.  He  was  an  accomplished 
courtier  and  statesman,  a  man  of  large  affairs.  His 
range  of  ideas,  the  loftiness  of  his  thought,  his  com- 
mand of  language  and  unrivalled  power  of  terse,  flam- 
ing description  placed  him  in  a  literary  class  by  him- 
self. He  could  cast  a  spell  over  his  listeners  and  sway 
them  at  will.  As  a  leader  Isaiah  was  without  a  rival. 
God  raised  him  up  to  put  religious  thinking  upon  the 
broadest  possible  basis. 

The  book  of  Isaiah  obviously  falls  into  three  general 
sections:  (a)  1-35,  (b)  36-39,  and  (c)  40-66.  Of  these 
(c)  relates  to  the  exile  or  later,  (b)  is  paralleled  by 
II  Kings  18  :  13-20: 20.  Only  (a)  contains  the  portions 
which  set  forth  the  activity  of  the  prophet.  Even 
these  chapters  require  much  analysis  and  rearrange- 
ment to  put  them  into  a  usable,  chronological  order, 
which  gives  us  a  picture  of  the  work  of  the  prophet. 

,6.  Isaiah's  Earliest  Sermons  to  the  People  of  Jeru- 
salem (2 :  5-4: 1 ;  5 : 1-24;  9 :  8-10 : 4;  5 :  25-30; 
17:1-11).    About  738-739. 

Isaiah,  like  his  contemporaries,  was  Impressed  by  the 
dangerously  selfish  corruption  of  the  life  of  his  day. 
His  earUest  utterances  strike  a  strongly  ethical  note. 

Jerusalem  is  superstitious,  corrupt,  frivolous,  luxurious,  inviting 
judgment.     Isaiah  2 :  5-4  : 1. 

Judah  is  the  unfruitful  vineyard  of  Jehovah.     5 : 1-7. 

Seven  "  woes  "  upon  offenders  against  social  righteousness.     5 : 8-24. 

Proud  Ephraim  shall  be  smitten,  stroke  after  stroke,  by  war,  dis- 
aster, anarchy,  invasion,  until  she  is  swept  away.  9  :  8-10  :  4; 
5 :  25-30. 

Israel's  bulwark,  the  Syrian  kingdom,  is  doomed  and  Israel  along 
with  her.     17 : 1-11, 


18  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

Here  the  prophet  sounded  a  note  like  that  of  Amos. 
Jehovah  in  His  righteousness  would  not  condone  such 
conditions.     His  condemnation  was  sure. 

7.  The  Syro-Ephraimitish  Crisis.    About  735  B.  C. 
Foreign  invasion,  internal  dissensions,  and  crushing 

tribute  made  a  speedy  end  of  the  northern  kingdom 
after  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  Hosea  and  Isaiah 
alike  referred  to  the  rapid  dynastic  changes,  the  social 
anarchy,  the  varied  disaster,  the  futile  appeals  for 
foreign  aid.  In  seven  years  there  were  four  changes 
of  dynasty  and  six  rulers.  Tiglath-pileser  IV  of  As- 
syria was  an  aggressive  foe,  who  seemed  to  contem- 
plate the  speedy  conquest  of  Damascus.  Pekah,  of 
Israel,  and  Rezon,  of  Damascus,  threatened  to  raid 
Judah  in  735  B.  C.  in  order  to  force  Ahaz  to  join  them 
in  resisting  the  Assyrian  king,  or,  failing  in  that  com- 
pulsion, to  depose  him  and  set  up  a  puppet  king  of 
their  own  choosing  (Isaiah  7:6).  The  consequent 
panic  of  the  king  and  people  of  Judah  (7  : 1,  2)  brought 
Isaiah  once  more  to  the  front. 

8.  Isaiah's  Appeal  to  Ahaz  (7 : 1-25).    About  735  B.  C. 
The  prophet  brought  a  message  of  encouragement  to 

the  king,  who  was  inspecting  his  water-supply.  The 
king's  reception  of  his  message  led  to  another  of  a 
different  sort. 

These  two  nations  are  not  to  be  feared;  have  faith  in  Jehovah's 
care,  O  Ahaz.     Isaiah  7 :  3-9. 

Do  you  hypocritically  reject  [because  of  your  own  cherished  pur- 
pose to  appeal  to  Tiglath-pileser]  Jehovah's  sign?  A  young 
woman  shall  soon  have  a  son,  whom  she  will  name  Immanuel, 
showing  her  faith.  The  babe  shall  have  enough,  but  those 
countries  shall  lie  waste.     7 :  10-16. 

Unparalleled  disaster  will  then  come  upon  Judah.     7 :  17-25. 

Here  a  greater  Isaiah  is  revealed.  The  name  of  his 
young  son  "Remnant  shall  return"  shows  that  already 


HOSEA  AND   ISAIAH  19 

the  prophet  saw  far  beyond  the  judgments  he  had  pre- 
dicted. His  noble  appeal  to  the  king  to  trust  in  God 
and  despise  his  foes  and  his  confidence  that  the  people 
would  cherish  such  faith  exliibit  his  strong  religious 
leaderhip. 

9.  His  Later  Messages  to  the  People   (8:1-9:7). 

Before  732  B.  C. 
The  appeal  to  Ahaz  failed.  The  king  preferred  to 
pay  heavily  for  Assyrian  protection  (II  Kings  16 :  7-9) 
and  support.  So  the  prophet  had  to  state  his  case  to 
the  people.  At  this  early  period  and  throughout  his 
career  he  based  his  policies  upon  the  security  of  faith 
(30:15-18;  7:9,  13). 

The  two  public  predictions,  on  the  sign-board  and  through  the 
name  given  to  the  prophet's  second  son,  of  the  fall  of  Damascus. 
Isaiah  8 :  1-4. 

The  rejection  of  Jehovah's  gentle  guidance  means  a  brutal  Assyrian 
domination.     8 :  5-10, 

He  is  a  refuge  to  those  who  trust  Him,  but  a  terrible  obstacle. 
8:11-15. 

Since  my  protests  are  unavailing,  I  with  my  children  will  bear 
testimony  in  silence.     8  :  16-18. 

However  perplexed  and  distressed  the  days  may  become,  there 
will  be  relief.  The  enemy's  yoke  will  be  broken  by  a  righteous 
ruler  with  a  fourfold  name  expressive  of  wisdom,  prowess,  suc- 
cess, and  peace.     8  :  19-9  :  7. 

These  messages  may  cover  several  years.  They  an- 
nounced the  speedy  downfall  of  Syria  and  Israel, 
which  would  mean  eventually  distress  for  Judah,  from 
which  in  time  she  would  find  a  glorious  deliverance. 

10.  The   Contributions   of   Isaiah   to   the   Religious 

Thinking  of  This  Early  Period. 
Isaiah's  early  sermons  traversed  the  same  situation 
as  those  of  Amos  and  Hosea.     He  too  faced  a  people 
in  sore  need  of  repentance  and  cleansing,  idolatrous. 


20  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

luxurious,  self-satisfied,  selfish.  Like  those  strong 
teachers,  Isaiah  had  a  vision  of  God,  but  his  was  greater 
than  theirs.  To  him  Jehovah  was  a  Being  whose  char- 
acteristic quality  was  holiness.  He  meant  it  to  include 
such  quahties  as  righteousness,  loving-kindness,  and 
purity.  In  Isaiah's  thinking  holiness  meant  an  ab- 
sence of  limitation,  that  Jehovah  was  a  Being  perfect 
in  every  respect.  This  holy  Being  desired  His  own 
people  to  be  righteous,  with  abiding  faith  in  Him. 
Their  continuing  failure  to  maintain  true  standards, 
Isaiah  declared,  was  forcing  Him  to  bring  upon  them 
a  judgment  of  invasion.  Like  Hosea,  Isaiah  was  not 
without  hope.  He  named  his  eldest  son  "Remnant 
shall  return"  (7:3),  in  order  to  make  him  a  walking 
prophecy  of  repentance.  In  his  clear-headed  mind  the 
future  appeared  thus:  (1)  the  richly  deserved  judgment, 
however  severe  and  prolonged,  would  be  disciplinary 
in  ultimate  purpose;  (2)  as  an  outcome  there  would  be 
a  "remnant."  Judah,  though  cut  down,  would  be  a 
living  stump  (6:13);  (3)  this  "remnant"  would  be 
faithful  (7 :  3  margin) ;  (4)  it  would  in  time  have  its 
needed  leadership,  so  as  to  be  able  to  fulfil  the  Divine 
purposes  (9 :  2-7). 

Thus  Isaiah  rounded  out  the  thinking  of  his  prede- 
cessors. Hosea  saw  a  future.  Isaiah  made  that  future 
seem  distinct  and  important. 

II.  The  Interval  of  Relative  Silence  for  Twenty-five 
Years. 
Tiglath-pileser,  of  Assyria,  with  whom  it  was  the 
policy  of  Ahaz  to  keep  on  friendly  terms  (implying,  of 
course,  some  form  of  vassalage),  died  in  727  B.  C. 
His  successor,  Shalmaneser  IV,  reigned  just  long  enough 
to  press  to  a  successful  close  the  war  against  the  north- 
ern kingdom.    His  great  successor,  Sargon  (722-705), 


HOSEA  AND  ISAIAH  21 

received  the  actual  submission  of  Samaria  and  executed 
Shalmaneser's  plans  (II  Kings  17:6).  Sargon  was  a 
capable  soldier  and  sovereign.  Ahaz  remained  loyal 
to  Assyria  throughout  these  changes.  He  may  have 
deeply  resented  Isaiah's  disapproval  of  his  policy  and 
shown  his  royal  displeasure  by  depriving  the  prophet 
of  his  freedom  of  speech.  At  all  events  Isaiah  was  in 
obscurity  during  the  whole  long  reign.  The  death  of 
Ahaz  in  715  B.  C.  placed  Hezekiah  on  the  throne  of 
Judah.  Young,  earnest,  and  promising,  the  new  king 
was  friendly  to  Isaiah,  although  he  may  not  have 
agreed  entirely  with  the  prophet  on  matters  political. 
His  accession  placed  Isaiah  in  the  important  position 
of  privy-counsellor  to  the  king.  He  became  a  trusted 
and  influential  factor  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 


Ill 

THE  TWO  PROPHETS  OF  THE  REIGN  OF 
HEZEKIAH 

MicAH  THE  Commoner  and  Isaiah  the  Statesman 
(715-686  B.  C.) 

When  Hezekiah  ascended  the  throne  of  Judah,  re- 
storing Isaiah  to  royal  favor  and  giving  him  freedom 
to  function  as  a  friend  and  adviser  of  the  people,  another 
leader  appeared  in  Judah  who  was  much  of  a  kindred 
spirit,  the  prophet  Micah.  How  Micah  came  into  the 
circle  of  influence  is  nowhere  stated.  He  seems  to 
have  been  another  keenly  observant  countryman,  like 
Amos,  with  a  stinging  message  of  judgment  upon  the 
leaders  of  the  people  of  Judah,  whose  social  crimes  he 
pitilessly  exposed.  Like  Hosea  and  Isaiah,  however, 
he  had  also  a  gracious  message  regarding  Jehovah's 
ways  with  men  and  concerning  His  plans. 

I.  Micah's  Vision  of  Doom  in  View  of  the  Social 
Sins  of  Judah's  Leaders  (Micah  1-3 ;  6 :  9-7 :  6). 
To  give  an  exact  date  to  these  chapters  is  impractica- 
ble. They  are  probably  to  be  dated  in  the  early  reign 
of  Hezekiah  (Jeremiah  26 :  18,  19),  but  may  be  as  late 
as  703-701  B.  C. 

The  superscription  of  the  editor.     Micah  1:1. 

The  doom  of  Samaria  will  extend  to  Jerusalem.     1 : 2-9. 

With  what  accompanying  distresses  the  conquering  army  is  ad- 
vancing from  the  seacoast  (told  in  paronomasias) !     1 :  10-16. 

The  greedy,  unscrupulous,  self-deceived  Judeans  of  wealth  and 
power  will  suffer  deserved  exile.     2 : 1-11. 

[The  remnant  will  be  delivered  from  the  exile.     2 :  12-13.] 
22 


MICAH  AND   ISAIAH  23 

Judah  is  as  wicked  as  Israel  was.     6  :  9-7  :  6. 

Judah's  rulers  are  so  heartless  and  her  false  prophets  so  blinded, 

and  all  so  united  in  their  corruption  that  a  sweeping  judgment 

is  sure.     3  :  1-12. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Micah's  rebukes  awak- 
ened the  popular  conscience  and  led  to  public  repen- 
tance, so  that  the  judgment,  in  the  mind  of  men  of 
the  next  century,  became  unnecessary  (Jeremiah 
26:17-19). 

2.  The  Growing  Political  Unrest  of  Judah:  Isaiah's 

Warning  (Isaiah  20). 
When  Samaria  fell  in  722  B.  C.  Sargon  had  just 
ascended  the  throne  of  Assyria.  He  was  a  capable 
ruler,  his  empire  under  full  control.  But  for  a  decade 
he  was  busied  with  affairs  in  other  parts  of  his  domin- 
ion and  paid  little  attention  to  Palestine.  The  Philis- 
tine king  of  Ashdod,  with  other  kinglets,  trusting  in 
the  promises  of  aid  from  Egypt,  revolted  against  Sar- 
gon. This  insurrection,  so  close  at  hand,  stirred  the 
people  of  Judah.  Isaiah  was  strongly  opposed  to  their 
joining  in  it,  and  expressed  his  advice  by  a  striking 
object  lesson.  For  the  three  years  from  713  to  711  he 
walked  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  in  the  garb  of  a  cap- 
tive, as  much  as  to  say  "Assyria  will  take  away  cap- 
tive both  Egypt  and  all  who  trust  in  her."  Needless 
to  say,  the  Judean  revolt  did  not  take  place. 

3.  Isaiah's  Opposition  to  an  Alliance  Against  Sen- 

nacherib  (Isaiah  18:1-19:17;  28-32).    About 

703  B.  C. 
Sargon  died  in  705  B.  C     The  accession  of  Sennach- 
erib to  the  throne  of  Assyria  was  the  signal  over  the 
whole  empire  for  the  wide-spread  explosion  of  the  long- 
subdued  but  passionate  desire  for  freedom  from  Assyr- 


24     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

ian  dominance.  Among  others,  the  little  peoples  of 
Palestine,  encouraged  by  Shabako,  the  Ethiopian  king 
of  Egypt,  and  by  Merodach-baladan  of  Chaldea 
(II  Kings  20 :  12-19),  formed  a  coalition  into  which 
Judah  was  gradually  drawn  in  spite  of  Isaiah's  earnest 
opposition.  His  vigorous  appeals  at  this  time  are  em- 
bodied in  chapters  28-32,  which  set  forth  the  contrast 
between  Jehovah's  real  purpose  and  the  foolish  schemes 
of  the  politicians  of  Judah. 

Let  the  Ethiopian  ambassadors  go  back;  Jehovah  is  biding  His 

time.     Isaiah  18. 
Like  the  drunken  leaders  of  beautiful  Samaria  are  those  of  Judah. 

They  resent  my  reiterated  warnings,  and  place  their  security  in 

rites.     The  only  safe  and  broad  basis  for  our  national  hope  is 

righteousness  and  justice.     28 : 1-22. 
God  adjusts  His  processes  to  the  ends  He  has  in  view.     28 :  23-29. 
Jerusalem  is  God's  altar-hearth;  she  shall  be  inviolable.     29 : 1-8. 
The  people  are  imreceptive  to  my  appeals;  they  even  try  to  hide 

their  plots  from  Jehovah's  eyes.     29  :  9-24. 
The  alliance  with  Egypt  will  only  bring  disgrace:  she  is  "Rahab- 

sit-still."     30 : 1-7. 
You  rebelliously  minded  people  wish  only  agreeable  words  to  be 

spoken  to  you;  utter  ruin  will  befall  you.     30 :  8-17. 
At  the  crisis  of  distress  Jehovah  will  have  mercy  and  bring  again 

prosperity.     30 :  18-26. 
Jehovah  will  appear  in  His  wrath  to  annihilate  Assyria,  while 

Judah  rejoices.     30:27-33. 
Woe  to  those  who  trust  in  Egypt:  Jehovah  will  protect  His  people 

and  destroy  Assyria.     31 ;  1-9. 
Egypt  will  receive  the  judgment  she  merits.     19 : 1-17. 
There  shall  sometime  be  a  king  governing  righteously.     32 : 1-8. 
The  frivolous  wealthy  women  of  Jerusalem  will  soon  have  abun- 
dant sorrow.     32 : 9-14. 
Righteous  conduct  and  justice  will  bring  peace  and  happiness. 

32 : 15-20. 

The  crisis  developed  Isaiah's  ripest  thinking  regard- 
ing Jehovah's  greatness,  the  wisdom  of  trusting  in 
Him,  the  folly  of  reUance  upon  Egypt  or  any  other 
human  aid,  the  importance  of  true  personality,  the 
quiet  assurance  of  the  man  of  faith,  and  the  absolute 


MICAH  AND  ISAIAH  25 

certainty  of  the  execution  of  the  Divine  purposes  and 
plans.  When  he  faced  a  distressing  present,  it  never 
caused  him  to  lose  sight  of  the  certain  future. 

4.  Isaiah's  Assurances  of  Jerusalem's  Deliverance 
from  Sennacherib's  Unjustifiable  Attack  (701- 
690  B.  C). 

In  spite  of  Isaiah's  efforts  the  people  of  Judah  did 
join  the  coalition  in  revolting  against  Sennacherib. 
Hezekiah  was  made  the  general  leader.  Sennacherib, 
in  due  time,  about  701  B.  C,  was  ready  to  attend  to 
his  rebellious  subjects  in  "the  westland."  With  a 
large  army  he  marched  across  the  Euphrates,  then 
southward,  crushing  all  opposition  as  he  advanced. 
An  Egyptian  army  did  march  out  to  meet  him,  but 
was  crushed  at  Eltekeh  in  southern  PhiUstia.  He  then 
ravaged  Judah  and  besieged  Jerusalem. 

Judah's  distress  is  due  to  her  own  faithlessness  and  ingratitude 
Jehovah  demands  justice  and  mercy  and  obedience.  The  city 
is  degenerate.     Isaiah  1 :  2-26. 

The  unpardonable  frivolity  of  the  people  threatened  by  such  dan- 
ger.    22 :  1-14. 

The  ambitious  steward,  Shebna,  deposed  in  favor  of  the  steadfast 
Eliakim.     22 :  15-23. 

Hezekiah  came  to  terms.  He  purchased  the  free- 
dom of  the  city  by  paying  a  very  heavy  ransom 
(II  Kings  18:13-16). 

Later  on  Sennacherib  apparently  determined  that  he 
must  gain  control  of  Jerusalem,  which  was  a  very 
strong  city.  He  sent  his  officers,  in  violation  of  his 
plighted  word,  to  demand  its  surrender.  Isaiah  now 
supported  Hezekiah  in  his  refusal  to  comply  with  the 
demand  (II  Kings  18:17-19:7).  He  believed  that 
Jehovah  would  not  permit  Jerusalem  to  be  destroyed. 


26     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

The  power  of  Assyria  shall  soon  be  broken:  Jehovah's  great  deed 
of  deliverance  will  give  His  people  peace;  Jerusalem  shall  be  pre- 
served inviolate.     Isaiah  33. 

The  proud  and  boastful  Assyrian  is  only  Jehovah's  tool:  his  hu- 
miliating ruin  is  sure.     10 :  5-34. 

The  Assyrian  will  be  defeated:  Jehovah's  rule  is  world-wide. 
14 :  24-27. 

Thus  the  prophet  steadied  the  faith  of  king  and 
people  in  this  fateful  crisis.  It  was  a  wonderful  exam- 
ple of  the  power  of  personality.  Hezekiah  was  firm. 
Either  at  once  or  later  Sennacherib  seems  to  have 
made  a  second  demand  with  a  similar  lack  of  success. 
Just  then  he  was  forced  to  march  toward  Egypt. 
There  his  army  was  smitten  by  a  pestilence,  which  he, 
of  course,  interpreted  as  due  to  the  dangerous  anger 
of  the  gods  of  the  invaded  countries.  In  exact  accord- 
ance with  the  prediction  of  II  Kings  19 :  32-34  he 
returned  to  Assyria,  where,  considerably  later,  he  was 
murdered. 

5.  Sermons  from  the  Later  Life  of  Isaiah  and  Micah. 
To  the  years  succeeding  this  great  triumph  of  the 
sovereign  and  his  honored  prophet  must  be  attributed 
Hezekiah's  reformation.  The  influence  of  Isaiah  must 
have  been  very  great.  To  these  happy  years  may  be 
attributed,  without  any  real  certainty,  some  beauti- 
ful passages  in  the  writings  attributed  to  Isaiah  and 
to  Micah.  They  serve  to  round  out  the  thinking  of 
the  age,  and  seem  appropriate  to  a  period  when  these 
two  great  religious  thinkers  had  the  leisure  and  the 
motive  for  dwelling  upon  the  implications  of  their 
earher  predictions. 

Isaiah's  story  of  his  call  to  his  prophetic  task.     Isaiah  6. 
Jerusalem  shall  be  the  teaching  center  of  true  religion  for  the 

world.     Isaiah  2 :  2-4;  Micah  4  :  1-5. 
Little  Bethlehem  in  the  country  shall  be  the  birthplace  of  the 

expected  leader.     Micah  5  :  2-5a. 
The  religion  which  Jehovah  demands  is  reasonable.    Micah  6 : 1-8. 


MICAH  AND  ISAIAH  27 

The  shoot  from  the  stock  of  Jesse  shall  rule  in  righteousness  and 

peace.     Isaiah  11 : 1-9. 
The  Jerusalem  of  that  ideal  day.     Isaiah  4  :  2-6. 
The  task  of  the  deliverer  and  of  the  "remnant."     Micah  5  :  5h-l5. 
[Repentant  Israel's  confession  of  faith.     Micah  7 :  7-20.] 
[The  second  great  deliverance  and  return.     Isaiah  11 :  10-16.] 


6.    The  Leading  Ideas  of  the  Four  Eighth-Century 
Prophets. 

The  half -century  during  which  the  four  prophets  de- 
livered their  messages  was  not  a  time  of  continuous 
activity.  Rather,  there  were  bursts  of  prophetic  ac- 
tivity during  the  earUer  and  the  later  years,  each  in 
connection  with  a  great  national  peril.  Fortunately, 
there  were  four  interpreters  of  the  divine  personality 
and  purpose,  instead  of  one.  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and 
Micah  had  as  many  different  view-points,  yet  their 
messages  fit  into  a  fairly  clear  group  of  declarations 
which  had  the  important  effect  of  altering  the  empha- 
sis in  religion  from  ritualistic  regularity  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  moral  and  spiritual  character  and  the  render- 
ing of  genuine  service  to  society. 

The  outstanding  ideas  of  this  first  important  era  of 
prophecy  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

(1)  Jehovah  is  to  be  described  in  terms  of  charac- 
ter rather  than  power.     He  is  righteous,  loving,  holy. 

(2)  He  insists  that  His  people  shall  also  lay  stress 
on  character.     His  demands  are  wholly  reasonable. 

(3)  His  people,  especially  the  responsible  leaders, 
exhibit  all  sorts  of  social,  economic,  and  rehgious 
wickedness. 

(4)  Notwithstanding  frequent  divine  warnings 
they  are  obstinately  impenitent. 

(5)  Hence  Jehovah,  in  order  to  awaken  the  public 
conscience,  must  bring  upon  the  land  the  calamity 
of  Assyrian  invasion. 


28  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

(6)  His  purpose  in  this  will  be  redemptive  and 
disciplinary;  hence  there  will  be  a  "remnant." 

(7)  Through  the  leadership  which  Jehovah  will 
eventually  provide  the  remnant  will  execute  His 
great  purpose  for  the  world. 

(8)  Jerusalem  will  become  the  religious  center  of 
the  world. 

7.    The  Limitations  of  This  Prophecy. 

Much  of  this  teaching  is  as  sound  to-day  as  it  was 
twenty-eight  centuries  ago.  Our  social  conditions  com- 
pare closely  with  the  conditions  described  by  these 
prophets.  City  and  community  problems  are  more  or 
less  eternal.  Selfishness,  pride,  greed,  and  the  love  of 
power  work  havoc  with  true  religion  in  all  ages.  The 
ideas  of  God  still  hold  good.  But  the  prophets  of  the 
eighth  century  B.  C.  were  limited  in  two  marked  ways. 
They  could  not  imagine  Jehovah  as  carrying  out  His 
plans  for  the  world  except  by  using  the  Hebrew  nation 
as  His  working  unit.  Hence  they  looked  forward  to 
its  literal  and  complete  restoration  as  a  nation,  with 
Jerusalem  functioning  as  the  capital  and  the  temple  as 
the  religious  center.  Moreover,  they  expected  that  the 
world  would  receive  its  knowledge  of  Jehovah  by  com- 
ing to  Jerusalem,  His  abode.  These  ideas  were  glorious 
and  commendable,  but  not  truly  interpretative  of  the 
real  Divine  intention.  They  were  a  sort  of  bridge  be- 
tween the  older,  narrow  nationalism  and  the  true  uni- 
versalism  of  a  century  or  two  later. 

These  prophets  were  really  predicting  that  the  whole 
world  would  ultimately  worship  Jehovah.  They  erred 
only  in  specifying  the  exact  method  by  which  this  was 
to  be  brought  about.  It  took  nearly  two  centuries  of 
added  experience  to  reveal  the  real  Divine  method. 


IV 

THE  TWO  PROPHETS  OF  THE  REFORM 
MOVEMENT  OF  JOSIAH'S  REIGN 

Zephaniah  and  the  Young  Jeremiah 
(626-621  B.  C.) 

The  death  of  Hezekiah  placed  his  young  son,  Manas- 
seh,  upon  the  throne  of  Judah.  The  new  sovereign 
quickly  fell  under  the  baleful  influence  of  those  who 
hated  the  prophetic  circle  and  were  eager  to  break  its 
hold  upon  the  people.  Isaiah  and  Micah  disappeared 
from  notice;  possibly  they  were  slain.  The  prophets 
and  their  sympathizers  were  sorely  persecuted;  blood 
ran  freely.  Prevented  thus  from  public  teaching  or 
preaching,  the  prophets  turned  their  energies  gradu- 
ally in  the  direction  of  literature — preserving,  editing, 
producing.  They  quickly  discovered  that  a  writing 
could  preach  very  successfully,  passing  from  hand  to 
hand. 

During  the  long  reign  of  Manasseh  (686-641  B.  C.) 
Assyrian  influence  was  paramount  in  Judah.  This  was 
not  disadvantageous  in  many  respects.  It  promoted  a 
return  of  prosperity  and  a  real  development  culturally. 
It  also  involved,  however,  the  popularization  of  Assyr- 
ian religious  customs  and  the  revival  of  Canaanitish 
practices.  The  outcome  of  the  half-century  was  a 
better-organized  prophetic  group  and  a  people  reli- 
giously decadent  but  quite  prosperous.  Under  these 
conditions  Manasseh's  grandson,  Josiah,  ascended  the 
throne  about  639  B.  C. 

29 


so  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

1.  The  Young  King  and  His  Advisers. 

Josiah  was  only  eight  years  of  age  when  he  became 
the  king  of  Judah.  As  he  grew  from  childhood  to 
maturity  he  came  under  the  helpful  influence  of  those 
with  high  ideals,  such  men  as  Zephaniah  the  prophet, 
Shaphan  the  royal  scribe  and  Hilkiah  the  high  priest. 
He  did  not  take  revenge  upon  those  who  had  opposed 
the  prophets,  but  was  encouraged  by  his  advisers  to 
undertake  definite  and  needed  improvements,  first  of 
all  a  repairing  of  the  Temple.  This  act  of  itself  meant 
an  honoring  of  Jehovah  and  an  encouragement  of  His 
loyal  worship. 

2.  The  New,  Menacing,  Northern  Foe. 

Assyria  had  by  this  time  been  an  acknowledged 
suzerainty  so  long  that  her  relationship  to  Judah  was 
unquestioned  by  the  Hebrews.  Asurbanipal  of  Assyria 
died,  however,  in  626  B.  C,  after  a  brilliant  reign  of 
forty-two  years.  For  some  years  previous  his  grip  had 
slackened.  From  the  reform  sermons  of  Zephaniah 
and  Jeremiah  we  have  hints  of  the  fears  inspired  in 
some  of  the  Palestinian  peoples  by  the  prospect  of  the 
descent  of  fierce  and  warlike  marauders  from  the  north 
(Jeremiah  6  :  22-26;  4  :  29).  Herodotus  is  the  author- 
ity for  the  statement  that  the  Scythians  at  this  time 
poured  down,  like  predatory  Cossack  hordes,  through 
Asia  Minor  over  many  parts  of  the  Assyrian  empire, 
doing  vast  damage  everywhere.  As  in  the  preceding 
century,  the  prophets  viewed  these  invaders  as  des- 
tined by  Jehovah  to  punish  His  faithless  people,  unless 
they  repented  promptly. 

3.  How  Zephaniah  Became  a  Prophet. 

At  this  time  of  crisis  in  the  empire  the  prophet 
Zephaniah  sounded  a  stirring  note  of  reform  in  Jeru- 


ZEPHANIAH  AND  JEREMIAH  31 

salem  and  Judah.  Of  him  nothing  is  known  except 
that  he  was  the  great-great-grandson  of  Hezekiah 
(1:1).  If  this  means  that  he  was  of  royal  hneage,  it 
accounts  for  his  early  influence  at  the  court  of  Josiah. 
Like  Amos  and  Isaiah,  he  felt  called  upon  to  denounce 
the  social  and  religious  condition  of  his  country  and 
the  foreign  influences  and  customs  which  had  under- 
mined the  national  rehgious  life  and  the  standards  of 
the  people. 

4.  His  Announcement  of  Doom  for  Unrepentant  Judah 

(About  626  B.  C). 

The  superscription  of  the  editor.     Zephaniah  1:1. 

Jehovah's  sweeping  judgment  about  to  dispose  ofj  Judah's  idolaters 
and  apostates.     1 :  2-6. 

The  "day  of  Jehovah"  will  be  a  day  of  wrath,  terrible  in  its  dis- 
tresses, unsparing  of  any.     1 :  7-18. 

Only  the  meek  and  righteous  may  escape.     2 : 1-3. 

The  judgment  will  fall  upon  Philistia,  Ethiopia  and  Assyria,  whose 
proud  confidence  will  be  shaken,     2 :  4-7,  12-15. 

[Moab  and  Ammon  for  their  arrogance  shall  be  destroyed. 
2:8-11.] 

Jerusalem's  proud,  impenitent  rulers  and  teachers  shall  be  ex- 
pelled, but  the  righteous  "remnant,"  honest  and  peaceful,  shall 
remain.     3 :  1-13. 

Jehovah  will  then  dwell  among  his  people,  rejoicing  over  them. 
3:14-17. 

[After  the  exile  all  shame  and  reproach  shall  be  turned  into  uni- 
versal praise  and  glory.     3 :  18-20.] 

5.  Zephaniah's  Austere  Gospel. 

Zephaniah  must  have  been  young,  hence  the  un- 
sparing sweep  of  his  vision  of  Jehovah's  wrath.  He  is 
a  prophet  of  doom,  "searching  out  sinners  for  destruc- 
tion." This  judgment  is  a  world  judgment.  He  in- 
sists, however,  with  his  great  predecessors,  that  moral 
qualities  have  a  permanent  value,  hence  a  "remnant" 
will  remain.  Many  scholars  regard  Zephaniah  as  prob- 
ably incapable  of  assuming  the  mood  of  rejoicing  ex- 
pressed in  3 :  14-17.     Such  think  that  these  verses  are. 


32  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

like  2 : 8-11   and  3 :  18-20,  a  post-exilic  addition  to 
Zephaniah's  own  prophecies. 

6.  The  Call  of  Jeremiah  to  Prophetic  Duty  (Jeremiah 

i).  About  625  B.  C. 
How  Jeremiah  was  convinced  that  Jehovah  had  laid 
His  commands  upon  him  is  not  clear.  He  was  of  a 
priestly  family  (1 : 1),  and  very  much  alive  to  the 
danger  which  threatened  the  land  through  the  feared 
Scythians  (1 :  13,  14).  His  growing  sense  of  duty  over- 
mastered his  feeling  of  immaturity  and  his  natural 
shyness,  God  giving  him  a  growing  sense  of  His  re- 
sourcefulness and  might. 

Superscription  of  the  editor.     Jeremiah  1 : 1-3. 

Jeremiah's  call  to  prophetic  service.     1 :  4-10. 

His  reassm"ing  vision  of  the  blossoming  almond.     "Jehovah  is 

watchful."     1 :  11,  12. 
The  vision  of  the  boiling  kettle,  symbolizing  the  fiery  flood  of 

judgment.     "Be  bold;  you  shall  be  secure."     1:  13-19. 

7.  His  Early  Sermons  Urging  Repentance  and  Re- 

form in  Judah  (625-621  B.  C). 
Jeremiah's  first  appeals  to  the  people  recall  Hosea's 
pleas.     He  used  the  figure  of  marriage  to  represent  the 
bond  between  Jehovah  and  His  people,  and  reviewed 
with  starthng  frankness  their  repeated  infidelities. 

Notwithstanding  the  faithlessness  of  Israel,  Jehovah's  bride,  to 

Him,   Jehovah   will   gladly   forgive   her,    if   repentant.     Jere- 

lYiiQ  fi  2  *  1— 4  '  4 
Through  the  terrible  northern  foe  (4 :  6-8;  5  :  15-19;  6 :  22,  23),  so 

devastating,  Jehovah  will  bring  judgment  upon  sinful  Jerusalem, 

which  rejects  His  teaching.     4 :  5-6 :  30. 

Such  powerful  appeals  as  these  and  those  of  Zeph- 
aniah  must  have  predisposed  the  people  to  thought- 
fulness.  When  the  "book  of  the  law"  was  found 
(II  Kings  22)  and  read  pubUcly,  and  when  King  Josiah 


ZEPHANIAH  AND  JEREMIAH  33 

led  his  subjects  in  accepting  its  demands,  they  re- 
sponded as  a  nation,  adopting  very  sweeping  reforms 
(621  B.  C). 

8.  Twelve  Years  of  Life  Under  the  New  Law. 

The  Deuteronomic  law  in  itself  must  have  been 
approved  by  Jeremiah.  Its  spirit  of  philanthropic 
friendliness  was  like  his  own.  Jeremiah  11 :  1-8  seems 
to  record  his  active  support  of  the  new  covenant. 
With  its  emphasis  of  the  ritualistic  side  of  religion, 
however,  he  was  not  likely  to  be  in  fullest  sympathy. 
It  may  be  significant  that  unless,  Jeremiah  31 : 2-30, 
a  prediction  of  the  restoration  of  northern  Israel  is 
assigned  to  this  period,  Jeremiah  seems  to  have  been 
silent. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  state  these  years  were 
noteworthy.  The  people  followed  their  king.  He  en- 
larged his  territory,  was  quite  free  to  follow  his  own 
plans  because  of  Assyria's  growing  weakness,  and 
prospered. 

9.  The  Death  of  Josiah  at  Megiddo  (608  B.  C). 
Meanwhile  in  Egypt  a  strong  king  had  arisen  who 

began  to  have  visions  of  wresting  from  weakening 
Assyria  the  leadership  of  western  Asia.  At  least 
Necho  intended  to  control  Palestine  and  Syria.  He 
enlisted  a  large  contingent  of  Greek  mercenaries,  mak- 
ing his  own  army  formidable.  On  his  northward 
march  at  Megiddo  Josiah  disputed  his  advance  but 
was  readily  overthrown  and  slain.  The  prophetic 
party  which  had  been  in  control  in  Judah  placed  Shal- 
lum,  a  promising  son  of  Josiah,  on  the  throne  of  Judah, 
naming  him  Jehoahaz.  After  three  months  Jehoahaz 
was  summoned  by  Necho  to  Riblah  in  northern  Syria, 
deposed,  and  sent  as  a  captive  to  Egypt,  where  he 


34  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

died.  The  bitter  disappointment  of  Jeremiah  was  ex- 
pressed in  Jeremiah  22 :  10-12.  In  place  of  Jehoahaz 
Necho  appointed  Jehoiakim,  a  brother,  but  of  an  oppo- 
site type. 


THE    THREE    PROPHETS    OF    JEHOIAKIM'S 
REIGN 

Nahum,  Jeremiah  and  Habakkuk  (608-597  B.  C.) 

The  accession  of  Jehoiakim  made  a  rapid  change  in 
Judean  conditions.  The  new  king  was  self-centered 
and  unprincipled.  He  favored  the  ways  of  Manasseh, 
his  grandfather,  rather  than  those  of  Josiah,  his  father. 
The  prophetic  party  lost  its  influence;  Jeremiah,  its 
leader,  suffered  much  ill-treatment  and  even  danger. 
These  difficulties,  which  the  prophet  felt  acutely,  only 
made  him  persist  in  his  prophetic  duty  at  all  costs. 
The  eleven  years  of  Jehoiakim 's  reign  was  a  period  of 
martyrdom  for  Jeremiah,  but  it  taught  him  the  reali- 
ties of  religion.  He  had  to  fall  back  upon  Jehovah  as 
his  one  sure  support. 

I.  The  Paean  of  Nahum  Over  the  Anticipated  Down- 
fall of  Nineveh. 
The  actual  date  of  Nahum's  brief  announcement  of 
Nineveh's  fate  is  uncertain.  It  must  have  appeared 
during  the  period  when  the  great  empire  was  weaken- 
ing rapidly.  Any  date  after  Asurbanipal's  death  in 
626  B.  C.  would  be  possible,  but  the  clear  assurance  of 
the  poem  that  at  last  Assyria's  ruin  is  at  hand  points 
to  a  date  about  608  B.  C,  just  before  the  actual  cap- 
ture of  the  city  in  606  B.  C. 

Superscription  of  the  editor.     Nahum  1:1. 

Jehovah's  goodness  and  His  sternness  assure  His  judgment  of  the 
wicked  and  His  care  for  Judah.     1 :  2-15;  2 :  2. 
35 


36  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

The  capture  and  plunder  of  Nineveh,  the  lair  of  the  old  Hon,  is  at 

hand.     2 : 1,  3-13. 
Bloody,  deceitful  Nineveh,  like  Thebes  before  her,  will  go  to  ruin. 

Who  will  lament  her  ?     3 : 1-19. 

This  vivid  poem  was  no  mere  cry  for  vengeance.  It 
expressed  the  just  measure  of  ruin  which  Assyria's 
long  career  of  savagery  and  greed  had  brought  upon 
her.  Once  weakened  she  could  but  expect  destruction. 
To  a  Judean  the  passing  of  Assyria  seemed  the  opening 
of  a  new  future. 

2.  Jeremiah's  Bitter  Experiences  but  Brave  Persist- 
ence During  the  Early  Reign  of  Jehoiakim 
(608-605  B.  C). 

The  ostracism  and  active  hatred  which  Jeremiah  felt 
so  keenly  arose,  probably,  out  of  the  attitude  of  the 
king,  but  it  found  expression  nearer  home.  His  own 
neighbors  sought  his  life.  Such  bitter  experiences 
deeply  puzzled  and  pained  the  prophet.^ 

The  conspirators  against  Jeremiah  to  be  dealt  with  by  Jehovah. 

Jeremiah  11 :  9-23. 
*'0  Jehovah,  why  give  such  men  prosperity?"     [Answer.]     "You 

have  worse  trials  to  face  than  their  opposition."     12 :  1-6. 
At  the  house  of  the  potter:  Jehovah  is  as  free  in  dealing  with  a 

nation  as  the  potter  in  shaping  clay.     18. 
A  temple  sermon:    This  temple  will  be  destroyed,  like  that  at 

Shiloh,  if  Judah's  social  sins  persist.     7 : 1-8 :  3;  26. 
Persistently  corrupt  Judah's  inevitable  fate.     8 :  4-10  :  25. 
Symbolic  declarations  of  judgment:  the  waist-cloth  and  the  wine 

jars.     13 : 1-14. 
"0  Jehovah,  why  compel  me  to  sufiFer  so  unjustly?"     20:7-18. 
Jeremiah  assured  of  God's  continuing  and  precious  fellowship. 

15:10-21. 
How  he  learned  through  his  affictions  to  place  his  trust  in  Jehovah 

alone.     16 : 1-17 :  18. 

1  From  this  point  on  the  reader  will  note  tbat  the  references  to  Jeremiah's  preach- 
ing follow  a  puzzling  order.  The  order  chosen  is  that  in  which  the  sermons  were 
preached.  How  they  came  to  be  rearranged  as  they  are  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
Old  Testoment, 


NAHUM,  JEREMIAH,  AND  HABAKKUK  37 

The  broken  water-jar  a  warning  of  the  destructive  judgment  of 
Jehovah.     19:1-20:6. 

The  writing,  destruction,  and  remaking  of  the  collection  of  Jere- 
miah's early  sermons.     36;  45. 

This  grievous  testing  which  Jeremiah  endured  some- 
how revealed  to  him,  as  indicated  in  15  :  10-17 ;  18,  the 
supreme  privilege  and  joy  of  knowing  God  and  being 
close  to  Him.  It  was  such  another  creative  experience 
as  that  of  Hosea. 

3.  Jeremiah's  Joy  Over  Egypt's  Overthrow  by  Neb- 

uchadrezzar, the  Chaldean  Prince  (605  B.  C). 
Nineveh  fell  in  606  B.  C.  at  the  hands  of  the  Medes 
and  the  Chaldeans.  The  Chaldeans  took  Syria  and 
Palestine  as  a  part  of  their  share  of  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire, Nabopolassar  of  Chaldea  lost  no  time  in  send- 
ing an  army  under  the  crown  prince,  Nebuchadrezzar, 
to  meet  Pharaoh -Necho.  The  armies  met  at  Carchem- 
ish.  The  Egyptians  were  decisively  defeated,  and 
Judah  thereby  passed  automatically  under  the  political 
control  of  Chaldea  (II  Kings  24  :  7). 

A  taunt  song:  the  boastful  Pharaoh  with  his  contingents  has  re- 
ceived a  wounding  not  easily  assuaged.     Jeremiah  46  :  2-12. 

"  My  long  continued  ministry  has  failed  to  bring  about  repentance : 
the  Chaldeans  will  be  the  executors  of  divine  judgment  for 
seventy  years."     25  : 1-14. 

The  wine  cup  of  Jehovah's  wrath  shall  be  dnmk  by  other  peoples. 
25: 15-38;  (46: 13-49:39  reproduces  later,  fuller  declarations). 

4.  The  Meditations  of  Habakkuk  on  God's  Moral 

Ordering  of  the  Situation  (Habakkuk  1-3). 
The  actual  date  of  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk  is 
rather  uncertain.  It  belongs  to  the  period  of  the  Chal- 
dean overlordship,  but  is  dated  by  many  students  about 
560  B.  C,  during  the  exile,  instead  of  608  B.  C.  At 
any  rate  the  prophet  was  like-minded  with  Jeremiah 
in  his  attitude  toward  Divine  methods  in  deahng  with 


38  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

the  world.     He  vindicated  God's  character  by  stress- 
ing the  essential  permanence  of  righteousness. 

The  swift  and  terrible  Chaldeans  are  the  agents  of  Jehovah's  just 

judgments  against  wrongdoing.     Habakkuk  1: 1-11. 
Shall  Jehovah,  the  Holy  One,  make  use  of  so  inhuman,  so  insatiable 

a  nation  ?     1 :  12-17. 
The  Divine  answer:  wickedness  is  weakness;  true  righteousness  is 

morally  and  spiritually  permanent.     2 : 1-4. 
A  five-fold  woe  upon  the  persistent  evil-doer.     2 :  5-20. 
[A  lyric  describing  Jehovah's  march  from  Sinai  to  redeem  his 

people.     3.] 

This  unknown  prophet  expressed  a  great,  illuminat- 
ing idea,  which  undergirds  all  human  moral  advance. 
An  organization  for  plunder  is  sure  to  weaken  even- 
tually, whereas  the  righteous  man  can  afford  to  wait 
and  work,  knowing  that  what  he  stands  for  must 
prevail.  Jeremiah  12  : 1-4  and  Habakkuk  raise  a  ques- 
tion which  later  writers  in  the  Old  Testament  discuss 
frequently. 

5.  Jeremiah's  Preaching  During  the  Last  Few  Years 
of  Jehoiakim's  Reign  (601-597  B.  C). 
For  several  years  Jehoiakim  paid  tribute  regularly 
to  the  Chaldeans  (H  Kings  24 : 1).  Why  he  rebelled 
against  them  is  uncertain,  probably  on  account  of 
Egyptian  promises  of  help.  Nebuchadrezzar  was  not 
ready  at  once  to  lead  an  army  into  Palestine,  but 
he  was  alert.  He  ordered  the  troops  and  auxiliaries 
(II  Kings  24 : 2)  which  were  in  the  region  of  revolt  to 
do  all  possible  damage  to  Judah.  Their  raids  caused 
the  Rechabites  to  take  refuge  in  Jerusalem.  At  this 
crisis  Jeremiah,  who  had  been  quiet  for  several  peace- 
ful years,  again  appeared  to  appeal  to  the  people. 

Jeremiah's  estimate  of  royal  duty  and  of  Jehoiakim's  execution  of 

it.     Jeremiah  21:11-22:9,  13-19. 
Judah's  unfortunate  pride  and  disobedience  promises  inevitable 

ruin.     13 :  15-27. 


NAHUM,  JEREMIAH,  AND  HABAKKUK  39 

The  drought  in  Judah  and  Jeremiah's  intercession.     14 : 1-15  :  9. 
Jehovah  mourns  over  the  devastation  of  his  land  and  will  requite 

it.     12 : 7-17. 
How  the  Rechabites  served  Jeremiah  as  an  object  lesson  of  real 

loyalty.     35. 

Jeremiah  attributed  the  troubles  which  overwhelmed 
his  people  to  their  rulers  and  to  their  own  shortcomings. 
They  had  almost  driven  Jehovah  away  from  His  own 
land.  Such  splendid  loyalty  as  that  of  the  Rechabites 
would  insure  God's  continuing  blessing. 

6.  The  Religious  Values  of  Jehoiakim's  Eleven  Years. 
Jehoiakim's  hostility  to  Jeremiah  did  one  great  ser- 
vice to  religion.  The  prophet's  lot  was  a  very  hard 
one,  so  much  so  that  he  cried  out  against  it.  His 
loneliness  threw  him  back  onto  God  and  gave  him  a 
growing  sense  of  personal  fellowship  with  the  Divine 
which  was  a  virtual  discovery  in  religion.  He  saw  the 
fallacies  of  the  public  policies;  he  stood  up  against  false 
leadership;  he  saw  the  hand  of  Jehovah  in  current  his- 
tory and  was  persistent  in  pointing  out  the  doom 
toward  which  the  nation  was  drifting.  He  was  gentle, 
yet  finely  loyal  and  noble,  standing  before  the  very 
throne  of  God  with  appeals  for  reasonable  treatment. 
Discovering  himself  as  a  personality  in  close  touch 
with  God,  he  was  ready  to  make  the  yet  greater  dis- 
covery of  the  place  of  the  individual  in  God's  plans. 
These  years,  hard  as  they  were,  meant  much  to  the 
world. 

7.  The  First  Esdle  (597  B.  C). 

In  597  Nebuchadrezzar's  army  from  Babylon  in- 
vested Jerusalem.  At  this  juncture  Jehoiakim  died. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Coniah,  his  eighteen-year-old 
son,  who  took  the  royal  name  of  Jehoiachin.  The 
young  ruler  promptly  surrendered.     The  conqueror  de- 


40  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

ported  to  Babylon  the  royal  family,  the  court,  the 
important  leaders  of  the  state,  and  many  of  the  work- 
ing classes.  Probably  his  purpose  was  to  take  away 
those  likely  to  lead  a  revolt.  Another  son  of  Josiah, 
Zedekiah,  was  left  upon  the  throne. 


VI 

THE  MESSAGES  OF  JEREMIAH  AND  EZEKIEL 

Regarding  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  During  the 
Reign  of  Zedekiah  Over  Judah  (597-586  B.  C.) 

With  the  enthronement  of  Zedekiah  began  a  period 
for  Jeremiah  which  was  less  strenuous  yet  deeply  dis- 
appointing. The  king  had  good  impulses,  but  a  weak 
will.  He  was  surrounded  by  inexperienced,  head- 
strong advisers  against  whom  Jeremiah  could  accom- 
plish little.  The  prophet  had  the  sorrow  of  realizing 
that  his  beloved  country  and  its  institutions  were  being 
wrecked.  His  own  faith  in  Jehovah  and  willingness  to 
follow  His  leading  no  one  else  seemed  to  share. 

1.  Jeremiah's  Vigorous  Appeals  During  the  First  Five 

Years  (597-592  B.  C). 

His  letter  to  the  restless  captives  in  Babylonia:  Settle  down;  heed 
not  false  advisers;  your  captivity  will  be  long.     Jerenaiah  29. 

His  vivid  comparison  of  the  exiled  Judeans  with  their  worthless 
brethren  left  in  Judah.     24. 

His  denunciation  of  the  false  prophetic  leaders,  so  superficially 
optimistic,  so  lacking  in  real  conviction,  supporters  of  evil. 
23 : 9-40. 

His  public,  symbolical  appeal  to  the  ambassadors  and  to  Judah 
against  an  alliance  against  Babylon.     27. 

His  strenuous  encounter  with  Hananiah,  the  leader  of  the  oppo- 
sition.    28. 

A  warning  to  keep  the  Sabbath.^     17 :  19-27. 

2.  The  Call  of  Ezekiel,  the  Priest,  to  Prophetic  Ser- 

vice in  Babylonia  (592  B.  C). 
Among  those   who  were  carried   away  captive  to 
Babylonia  in  597  by  Nebuchadrezzar  was  Ezekiel,  a 

^  Some    students   make   this   post-exilic.     Compare   Nebemiab   13 ;  19-27.     But 
Deuteronomy  6  :  12-15  justifies  it. 

41 


42     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

young  man  of  priestly  descent  and  training.  He  was 
approximately  thirty  years  of  age,  broadly  cultured, 
versatile,  a  thoughtful  and  able  leader.  God  called 
him  to  the  work  of  a  prophet  through  a  remarkable 
experience,  which  he  recounted  later  in  interesting 
detail. 

Ezeklel's  vision  of  the  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  omniscient  Jeho- 
vah on  His  throne,  guarded  by  the  four  living  creatures.  Eze- 
kiel  1:1-28. 

His  Divine  commission  to  deliver  a  message  of  doom  to  his  dis- 
believing and  stubborn  people.     2 : 1-3 :  15. 

His  appointment  also  as  a  personal  watchman  and  pastor.   3 :  16-27. 

The  vision  which  Ezekiel  saw  was  really  inde- 
scribable. There  is  a  reverence  and  reticence  about  his 
sketch  which  overbears  the  grotesque  and  gives  the 
whole  conception  dignity.  It  was  the  Divine  majesty 
in  all  its  splendor  which  laid  him  prostrate,  then 
charged  him  with  a  great  responsibility. 

3.    His  Early  Ministry  to  the  Judean  Exiles  in  Baby- 
lonia (592-586  B.  C). 

Ezekiel's  principal  task  during  the  next  five  or  six 
years  was  that  of  convincing  the  exiles  that  Jerusalem 
and  the  Temple  were  doomed.  They  could  not  bring 
themselves  to  believe  this.  Jehovah's  own  prestige  in 
the  world  seemed  to  guarantee  the  contrary.  Jerusa- 
lem was  His  own  city;  the  Temple  was  His  abode;  the 
monarchy  He  had  created;  they  seemed  inviolable,  all 
the  more  because  Isaiah  had  so  declared  over  a  cen- 
tury earlier  (see  page  26).  Moreover,  there  were  other 
prophets,  those  whose  declarations  Jeremiah  had  often 
contradicted,  who  were  constantly  making  hopeful 
assertions,  far  more  palatable  to  their  countrymen. 
Hence,  during  these  few  years  before  the  actual  de- 


JEREMIAH  AND  EZEKIEL  43 

struction  of  Jerusalem,  Ezekiel's  lot,  like  that  of  Jere- 
miah before  him,  was  unenviable. 

Four  symbolical  predictions  (drawing  a  picture  of  a  siege,  lying  on 

his  side  a  day  for  each  year  of  exile,  baking  and  eating  famine 

bread,  shaving  his  body  clean)  of  the  certain  fate  of  Jerusalem. 

Ezekiel  4:1-5:  17. 
Religious  abominations  doomed.     6  : 1-7 :  27. 
Jerusalem's  abominable  idolatries  warranting  a  pitiless  slaughter, 

a  burned  city,  the  rebuking  of  its  guilty  rulers  and  the  departure 

of  Jehovah.     8:1-11:25. 
The  folly  of  the  popular  deference  paid  to  the  shallow,  time-serving 

prophets  and  the  disregard  of  genuine  prophetic  leaders.     12 : 1- 

14:11. 
Jerusalem,  like  a  useless  vine,  burned  at  both  ends,  is  only  fit  for 

destruction.     15. 
The  shameful  moral  record  of  Jerusalem,  Jehovah's  bride.     16. 
Her  faithless  king,  Zedekiah,  and  the  certain  destruction  of  his 

kingdom.     17. 
The  principles  of  Divine  procedure:  retribution  is  for  sin;  each 

individual  determines  his  own  destiny  and  must  bear  the  con- 
sequences.    18. 
A  few  righteous  inhabitants  will  not  save  a  guilty  land.     14  :  12-23. 
The  rulers  of  Judah  have  not  saved  the  state.     19. 
Israel's  persistent  idolatry  will  not  prevent  Jehovah  from  carrying 

through  His  purposes.     20  : 1-44. 
The  sharpened  sword  of  Jehovah's  agent.     20  :  45-21 :  32. 
The  classes  and  the  masses  in  Jerusalem  equally  sinful.     22. 
The  entangling  alliances  of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem  a  warning  to 

the  world.     23. 
Jerusalem  a  rusty  kettle  to  be  cleansed  only  by  fire.     24 : 1-14. 
The  sudden  death  of  Ezekiel's  wife  a  tragic  earnest  of  the  stunning 

calamity  soon  to  be  realized  by  the  captives.    24 :  15-27. 

Ezekiel  rendered  a  remarkable  service  to  his  people 
during  these  years.  He  used  his  varied  abilities  with 
wonderful  skill  to  bring  about  a  change  of  popular  con- 
viction regarding  Jehovah's  attitude  to  his  people, 
which  would  enable  them  to  endure  the  shock  of  the 
downfall  of  what  they  held  most  dear.  His  insistence 
on  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God  (18 :  23,  31,  32)  and 
his  clear  development  of  the  idea  that  the  individual 
is  the  responsible  unit  with  which  God  deals  (18  :  4-18) 
were  real  contributions  to  religious  advance. 


44  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

4.  Jeremiah's  Declarations  in  Connection  with  the 

Fall  of  Jerusalem  (588-586  B.  C). 
In  588  B.  C,  a  new,  ambitious  king,  Hophra,  ascended 
the  throne  of  Egypt.  He  joined  with  the  little  peo- 
ples of  Palestine  in  urging  Zedekiah  and  his  advisers 
to  renounce  allegiance  to  Chaldea.  In  spite  of  what 
Jeremiah  could  do  the  revolt  took  place.  Both  Jere- 
miah and  Ezekiel  denounced  this  act  as  treachery  to 
Jehovah  Himself  (Ezekiel  17: 19).  By  the  end  of  the 
year  the  Chaldean  army  appeared  in  Palestine  and 
began  the  reconquest  of  the  whole  area.  For  over  a 
year  Jerusalem,  a  secure  fortress,  held  out  bravely. 
Its  defenders  kept  hoping  for  Egyptian  aid,  but  the 
army  sent  by  Hophra  was  quickly  defeated.  From  the 
first  Jeremiah  declared  that  unconditional  surrender 
was  the  only  hope  of  the  people. 

Jeremiah's  reply  to  Zedekiah's  query  whether  Jehovah  would  de- 
liver the  city:  There  is  no  hope;  surrender  only  will  save  life. 
Jeremiah  21 :  1-10. 

His  later  advice:  The  city  will  be  taken.  (Surrender  and)  you 
shall  be  given  royal  clemency  and  favor.     34  :  1-7. 

His  denunciation  of  the  breach  of  faith  toward  the  liberated  slaves 
on  the  part  of  the  princes  and  people.     34  :  8-22. 

His  bold,  symbolical  prediction  of  the  certain  return  of  the  exiles 
to  Judah.     32  (especially  verses  6-15). 

Since  Jeremiah  was  steadily  declaring  the  loss  of  all 
immediate  hope  for  the  city  or  people,  it  was  a  strik- 
ing prediction  of  a  future  restoration,  when  he  not  only 
purchased  a  plot  of  land,  but  took  pains  to  comply 
publicly  with  every  detail  of  legal  procedure  regarding 
its  registration. 

5.  Jeremiah's  Prophecies  of  a  Spiritualized  Future. 
Jeremiah  had  come  to  the  point  of  contemplating  an 

entire  ending  of  city,  Temple  and  kingdom.     Like  a 


JEREMIAH  AND  EZEKIEL  45 

true  prophet,  however,  he  believed  as  firmly  as  ever  in 
Jehovah's  power  and  in  His  purpose.  He  was  conse- 
quently led  to  take  a  great  forward  step  in  religious 
thinking.  He  declared  that  God  in  the  future  would 
use  the  individual  as  His  working  unit,  not  the  nation. 
It  could  go  to  pieces,  yet  God's  purpose  would  be 
carried  on  by  godly  disciples  acting  collectively,  a  con- 
gregation rather  than  a  body-politic. 

A  new  record  of  prophetic  interpretation  to  be  prepared.  Jere- 
miah 30 :  1-4. 

Jehovah's  "day"  to  be  eventually  a  day  of  deliverance.     30 :  5-17. 

Ephraim  to  be  restored  also  to  prove  Jehovah's  goodness  and 
loving-kindness.     30  :  18-31 :  20. 

Ephraim  and  Judah  alike  will  then  rejoice.     31 :  21-26. 

In  those  days  each  individual  shall  be  responsible  for  himself. 
31 : 27-30. 

Jehovah's  new  covenant  will  be  written  on  each  heart.  31 :  31-34 
(compare  3 :  14-18). 

Jehovah  Himself  will  be  the  assiu-ance  of  new  Israel's  permanence. 
31 :  35-40. 

Peace  will  come  by  and  by  to  Jerusalem,  now  besieged  and  deso- 
lated.    33 :  1-13. 

Jehovah  will  raise  up  a  righteous  BRANCH  to  rule  over  the 
righteous  nation  under  a  promise  which  is  unbreakable. 
33 : 14-26. 

These  chapters  make  the  transition  from  religion 
limited  to  a  particular  area  or  people  to  a  genuinely 
spiritual  religion  with  no  such  limits.  A  religiously 
minded  individual  or  a  group  of  such  people  are  mova- 
ble. They  can  be  truly  religious  anywhere.  With  the 
clear  declaration  of  individualism  by  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel — to  be  credited  to  the  former  because  his  ex- 
periences opened  the  way  for  its  realization — a  real 
missionary  interpretation  of  religion  was  finally  made 
possible.  It  was  another  religious  discovery  of  the 
first  importance. 


46  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

6.  Ezekiel's    Oracles    Against   the    Nations    Which 

Seemed  to  Block  Judah's  Way. 
These  declarations  about  Judah's  near  neighbors  and 
the  greater  Asiatic  powers  were  not  put  forth  neces- 
sarily at  any  one  time,  but  may  be  most  appropriately 
considered  at  this  juncture.  They  probably  date  be- 
fore 585  B.  C. 

Against  Ammon,  Moab.  Edom  and  Philistia  for  petty  spitefulness. 

Ezekiel  25. 
Against  Tyre,  whose  capture  by  Nebuchadrezzar  will  be  mourned 

by  her  rivals.     26. 
Tyre,  the  gallant,  costly,  beautiful  trireme  of  the  seas,  laden  with 

the  riches  of  the  world,  shall  be  a  total  wreck.     27. 
Tyre  had  every  opportmiity :  with  Sidon  she  must  suffer.     28 : 1-24. 
Egypt,  the  fallen  cedar,  the  turbulent  crocodile,  will  meet  the  fate 

of  other  great  world  empires.     29-32. 
At  last  restored  Israel  will  acknowledge  Jehovah.     28 :  25,  26. 

7.  Jeremiah's  Policy  at  the  Fall  of  the  City  (586  B.C.). 
In  July,  586,  a  breach  was  at  last  made  in  the  wall 

of  the  city.  King  Zedekiah  tried  to  escape  but  was 
captured.  The  city  and  Temple  were  plundered  and 
burned;  the  walls  were  broken  down;  many  more  citi- 
zens were  carried  away  captive.  Nebuchadrezzar  left 
only  an  unorganized  peasantry  of  the  country  dis- 
tricts. Jeremiah  was  given  permission  to  choose  his 
own  fate  (40 :  1-6).  He  chose  to  stay  with  Gedaliah, 
the  newly  appointed  royal  governor  over  the  scattered 
peasantry  that  had  outlived  the  dangers  of  the  recent 
years.  Gedaliah  seems  to  have  been  a  choice  man. 
Doubtless  Jeremiah  hoped  to  strengthen  his  hand. 

8.  The  Seventh-Century  Prophets  as  Compared  with 

the  Eighth-Century  Group. 
This  second  prophetic  half-century  was  not  as  start- 
ling a  period  in  point  of  religious  readjustments  as  the 
first  one,  yet  it  ranks  high  in  the  hst  of  important 


JEREMIAH  AND  EZEKIEL  47 

periods  of  history.  Of  its  five  prophets,  Zephaniah, 
Nahum,  Jeremiah,  Habakkuk,  and  Ezekiel,  each  one 
stands  out  with  clear  individuaUty.  They  maintain 
the  famihar  ideas  of  God's  moral  demands,  of  Judah's 
varied  wickedness,  of  His  certain  judgments  and  of 
Israel's  assured  but  distant  future.  Zephaniah  and 
Jeremiah  mention  the  "remnant,"  while  the  latter 
prophet  uses  the  term  "Branch"  instead  of  "shoot," 
when  he  refers  to  the  anticipated  ruler  of  the  "rem- 
nant." 

These  prophets  took  a  wide-ranging  view  of  the 
Divine  power.  Jehovah  was  going  to  deal  summarily 
with  all  nations.  Habakkuk  expressed  a  rather  re- 
markable philosophy  of  religion  in  his  explanation  of 
the  permanence  of  righteousness.  Yet  the  three  su- 
premely great  additions  to  religious  thinking  which 
characterize  this  age  seemed  to  come  out  of  the  experi- 
ence of  Jeremiah.  The  first  of  these  was  a  deeper 
sense  of  the  nature  of  sin,  as  something  for  which  each 
one  is  responsible  (4:4;  17:9),  which  hardens  the 
heart  (7 :  24 ;  9  :  14)  and  creates  a  barrier  between  man 
and  God.  Again  Jeremiah  realized,  as  few  before  him, 
the  fellowship  of  man  with  God.  Finally  he  was  led 
up  to  the  great  conception  of  individualism  in  religion. 
Thus  religion  became  something  deeper,  more  personal, 
more  definitely  involving  individual  responsibility,  not 
a  mere  community  or  national  duty.  Ezekiel  may 
have  received  this  last  idea  from  Jeremiah,  but  he  re- 
stated it  in  a  very  clear  form. 


VII 

THE  GREAT  PROPHET  OF  THE  EARLY  EXILE 

EzEKiEL  (586-570  B.  C.) 

The  thorough  measures  taken  by  Nebuchadrezzar  to 
make  another  rebelhon  in  Judah  unhkely  had  the  effect 
of  reducing  every  Jew  who  was  in  any  respect  a  leader 
to  apathy  or  despair.  The  status  of  the  people  seemed 
hopeless.  Those  left  in  Palestine  were  peasantry  of 
little  account.  Those  carried  off  to  Babylon  to  be 
added  to  the  large  number  already  there  were  broken- 
hearted. Many  had  fled  to  Egypt  during  the  years 
preceding  the  great  disaster;  others  were  ready  to 
make  that  venture.  To  bring  these  groups  of  dis- 
illusioned, disheartened  people  into  a  frame  of  mind 
which  would  permit  them  to  profit  by  their  new 
environment  and  to  look  forward,  with  as  much  pa- 
tience as  possible,  to  better  days  was  a  true  prophetic 
task  to  which  Ezekiel  set  himseK  in  Babylonia.  Jere- 
miah desired  to  play  just  such  a  part  in  Judah  itself. 
But  when  Gedaliah,  the  governor,  was  slain,  the  panic- 
stricken  remnant,  fearing  the  blind  vengeance  of  Neb- 
uchadrezzar, fled  hastily  to  Egypt,  taking  Jeremiah 
with  them.     There  the  great  prophet  ended  his  days. 

I.    The  Last  Experiences  and  Sermons  of  Jeremiah 
(586  to  about  580  B.  C). 

Gedaliah,  appointed  governor  at  Mizpah  by  Nebuchadrezzar,  mur- 
dered by  Ishmael.     Jeremiah  40 :  7-41 :  18. 

Jeremiah's  vain  plea  to  those  who  wished  to  flee  to  Egypt  from 
Nebuchadrezzar's  wrath.     42 :  1-43 :  7. 
48 


EZEKIEL  49 

His  prediction  at  Tahpanhes  of  Nebuchadrezzar's  certain  con- 
quest of  Egypt.     43  :  8-13. 

His  vain  denunciation  of  the  idolatrous  worship  of  Ishtar  by  his 
countrymen  in  Egypt.     44. 

2.  Ezekiel's  Pastoral  Messages  of  Comfort  and  Hope 
to  the  Discouraged  Exiles  (585-575  B.  C). 
The  downfall  of  Jerusalem  with  its  startling  con- 
firmation of  what  Ezekiel  had  been  proclaiming  to  the 
exiles,  not  only  gave  him  fresh  prestige,  but  altered 
the  character  of  his  messages.  He  ceased  to  denounce 
and  began  to  comfort,  encourage  and  inspire.  He  was 
no  longer  the  severe  critic,  but  the  tender  and  thought- 
ful pastor. 

The  personal  responsibility  of  the  prophet  for  his  people  and  of 

each  Judean  for  himself.     Ezekiel  33  : 1-20. 
Notwithstanding  Jerusalem's  fall,  those  left  in  the  land,  if  they 

persist  in  sinning,  will  be  overtaken  by  judgment.     33 :  21-33. 
The  neglectful  rulers  of  the  past  will  be  replaced  under  Jehovah, 

the  good  guardian  Shepherd,  by  a  true  Davidic  ruler  who  will 

give  them  protection  and  peace.     34. 
Israel's  eventual  repossession  of  her  own  land,  cleansed  and  re- 
populated,  will  glorify  Jehovah's  name  in  the  world.     35,  36. 
The  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones:  Jehovah  is  able  to  create 

the  nation  anew.     37 : 1-14. 
The  vision  of  the  two  sticks:  the  future  people  shall  be  undivided. 

37:15-28. 
When  the  hostile,  heathen  powers  gather  for  a  final,  destructive 

attack  on  His  loyal  and  happy  people,  they  shall  suddenly  be 

destroyed  by  God  Himself.    38,  39. 

During  the  first  decade  of  the  exile  Ezekiel  evidently 
labored  unceasingly  to  re-establish  the  morale  of  his 
people.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  he  seeks  to  base 
their  confidence  upon  a  fresh  sense  of  Jehovah's  power 
and  good-will.  There  was  no  need  for  despair,  while 
He  was  active.  He  could  create  a  living  army  out  of 
dried-up  bones  (37).  His  power  was  ample  to  meet 
any  crisis  (39).  The  calamities  of  the  people  had  been 
disciplinary;  they  need  not  be  permanent. 


50  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

3.  Ezekiel's  Wonderful  Forecast  of  the  Properly  Re- 
organized Holy  Land  (572  B.  C). 

Ezekiel's  last  prophecy  was  his  greatest  one.  Osten- 
sibly it  was  a  ground  plan  of  the  new  temple  and  state. 
In  fact,  it  was  a  bold,  original,  elaborated  scheme  of 
reorganized  worship,  a  true  sermon  on  holy  living 
under  the  guise  of  an  architect's  specifications. 

Ezekiel  believed  that  one  great  source  of  past  failures 
had  been  the  lack  of  proper  organization  in  religious 
practice.  Trained  in  priestly  ideas,  he  beheved  that 
a  regulation  of  social  and  religious  methods  would  be 
one  way  of  preventing  such  errors.  He  wanted  to 
make  it  reasonably  easy  for  his  people  to  be  holy.  So 
he  put  forth  this  vision  of  the  temple  and  of  the  state 
that  ought  to  be. 

The  new  temple  on  Mt.  Zion  (exclusively)  with  its  gateways, 

courts,  sanctuary,  adjuncts,  buildings,  and  altar.     Ezekiel  40-43. 
The  temple  officials  and  life:  Levites  and  priests,  the  prince,  the 

festivals  and  the  offerings.     44-46. 
The  life-giving  stream  flowing  out  of  the  heart  of  the  temple, 

beautifying  and  redeeming  the  whole  land.     47 :  1-12. 
The  boundaries  of  this  land  and  the  allotments  to  people  and 

leaders.     47:13-48:29. 
The  appropriate  name  of  the  re-established  city.     48  :  30-35. 

This  temple  was  to  occupy  Mt.  Zion  exclusively,  not 
sharing  it,  as  in  the  past,  with  interests  primarily 
royal.  It  was  to  be  the  real  center  of  the  new  life  of 
the  land.  It  was  to  be  in  sole  charge  of  the  priesthood, 
not,  as  in  the  past,  controlled  by  the  secular  ruler. 
Out  of  it  was  to  come  a  healthful,  steady  flow  of  ordered, 
religious  experience,  correcting,  blessing,  and  making 
happy  the  obedient  and  devout  people.  The  entire 
temple  plan  was  thus  the  remarkably  stimulating  pro- 
gram of  a  better-ordered  community  life  for  the  new 
nation,  set  free  from  captivity  and  returned  to  Judah. 


EZEKIEL  51 

Like  all  great  forecasts,  while  it  had  much  value  in 
shaping  the  future  thinking  and  the  future  religious 
practice  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  was  never  accurately 
fulfilled.  We  should  remember  that  it  did  not  need 
to  be  literally  carried  out  in  full,  practical  detail.  It 
was  really  a  very  bold  prophecy.  It  achieved  its  real 
religious  purpose,  when  it  suggested,  with  such  force- 
fulness  and  clarity,  the  true  type  of  the  future  com- 
munity, the  things  which  that  community  should  set 
its  heart  on  doing  and  the  spirit  in  which  they  should 
be  done.  It  was  really  a  trumpet  call  to  a  more  force- 
ful, religiously  minded  community  life. 

4.    Ezekiel's  Contributions  to  Religious  Thinking. 

Ezekiel's  task  was  one  of  spiritual  reconstruction. 
He  had  to  give  his  disheartened  people  a  fresh  grip 
upon  life  and  a  new  point  of  view.  Before  the  down- 
fall of  Jerusalem  he  naturally  sought  to  show  the  moral 
and  spiritual  reasons  for  that  expected  calamity,  so 
that  it  would  not  overwhelm  the  people  in  Babylonia 
to  whom  he  was  ministering.  His  greatest  service, 
however,  was  rendered  to  the  enlarged  group  of  exiles 
in  Babylonia. 

He  deserves  recognition  for  the  directness  of  his 
message  on  behalf  of  the  individual  Israelite.  He 
places  moral  and  spiritual  responsibility  where  it  must, 
in  the  long  run,  belong,  upon  the  man  himself.  He 
nobly  asserted  the  freedom  of  the  individual  and  his 
responsibihty.  At  the  same  time,  in  chapters  40-48, 
he  set  forth  graphically  the  correlated  values  of  institu- 
tionalism  and  of  organization.  Men  have  to  do  God's 
work  together,  as  a  community.  There  must  be  some 
rules  to  go  by,  unless  anarchy  or  opportunism  are  to  be 
the  measures  of  achievement. 

Ezekiel  was  a  significant  leader.    He  gave  his  people 


52  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

a  fresh  grip  on  life  and  a  new  outlook.  He  helped 
them  to  realize  the  religious  value  of  proper  organiza- 
tion. He  dignified  the  current  conceptions  of  both 
God  and  man.  He  played  a  very  important  part  in 
creating  the  new  Israel  which  faced  the  new  age.  Of 
the  close  of  his  life  there  is  no  trace. 


VIII 

THE    HIGH-WATER    MARK    OF    PROPHETIC 
THINKING 

The  Isaianic  Preachers  of  the  Late  Exile 
(540-536  B.  C.) 

A  quarter-century  passed  by  after  the  latest  date 
reflected  by  any  of  the  writings  of  Ezekiel.  The  great 
body  of  exiles  had  become  reconciled  to  life  in  Baby- 
lonia, had  adjusted  their  habits  to  its  opportunities, 
had  even  found  these  very  alluring.  Yet  some  of  them 
eagerly  awaited  the  day  when  Jeremiah's  predictions 
(25  :  11-14;  29 :  10-14;  32 :  6-44)  of  the  ending  of  the 
power  of  the  Chaldean  empire  and  of  the  return  of  the 
Jewish  captives  to  Judah  might  be  realized.  These 
were  thrilled  by  the  news  which  spread  all  over  Asia 
about  549  B.  C.  that  a  new  genius  of  victory,  Cyrus, 
had  appeared,  at  whose  approach  whole  nations  were 
submitting  themselves  to  his  will.  They  could  be  sure 
that  in  due  time  such  a  conqueror  would  attack  the 
Chaldean  dynasty  at  its  capital,  Babylon,  and  test  its 
power.  In  fact,  within  three  years,  all  Western  Asia 
had  tendered  allegiance  to  Cyrus,  except  the  portions 
closely  controlled  from  Babylon. 

The  news  of  the  rapid  successes  gained  by  Cyrus, 
because  of  his  prestige,  almost  without  striking  a  blow, 
stirred  the  hearts  of  the  captives  in  Babylonia.  They 
began  to  feel  sure  that  Cyrus  was  God's  appointed 
instrument  to  bring  about  their  release. 

53 


54  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

1.  Predictions  of  Babylon's  Approaching  Fall  (After 

545  B.  C). 

The  well-merited,  thorough-going  overthrow  of  glorious  Babylon 
by  the  Medes:  a  triumphal  ode.     Isaiah  13  : 1-14  :  23. 

Babylon,  the  cruel  tyrant,  is  now  about  to  receive  her  just  deserts. 
Jeremiah  50  : 1-51 :  58. 

The  vision  of  the  army  successfully  invading  Babylon — a  message 
for  oppressed  Judah.     Isaiah  £1 : 1-10. 

2.  Assurances  to  the  Exiled  Community  that  the  Om- 

nipotent Jehovah  is  About  to  Deliver  His  Peo- 
ple (Isaiah  40-48).    About  540  B.  C. 

At  this  juncture  among  the  captives  was  heard  the 
voice  of  the  greatest  of  Israel's  prophets.  Who  he  was 
and  how  so  wonderful  a  personality  could  remain  un- 
known are  two  of  the  puzzles  of  sacred  history.  His 
environment  was  not  only  beyond  question  that  of 
the  end  of  the  exile,  but  his  only  motive  for  expression 
was  the  desire  to  capitalize  the  lessons  of  the  long  exile 
in  the  interest  of  a  new  order  of  procedure  in  the 
future  for  his  people.  Even  the  great-visioned  Isaiah 
of  700  B.  C.  could  not  have  imagined  the  situation  as 
it  came  to  exist  in  540  B.  C.  Everything — leading  na- 
tions, political  problems,  Israel's  situation — had  been 
radically  changed,  except  the  character,  power,  and  pur- 
pose of  Jehovah.  The  speaker  or  writer  of  Isaiah  40-48 
was  in  all  human  probability  a  hving  prophet  of  the 
sixth  century,  gifted  and  educated  like  his  great  prede- 
cessor, whose  writings  or  utterances  came  to  be  bound 
up  at  a  much  later  date  with  the  genuine  Isaianic 
writings,  because  they  interpreted  so  nobly  and  clearly, 
in  the  light  of  these  new  conditions,  the  ideals  which 
the  great  Isaiah  had  cherished.  This  prophet  of  the 
exile  was  a  great  interpreter  of  the  historic  past  no  less 
than  a  pleader  for  a  future  altogether  new. 


ISAIAH  40-55  55 

Israel  has  paid  in  full  for  her  sins.  Let  the  glad  tidings  go  forth 
that  the  end  of  the  exile  is  at  hand.     Isaiah  40 : 1-11. 

The  all-powerful,  all-knowing,  incomparable,  unwearying  Jehovah 
assures  this.     40  :  12-31. 

His  sovereignty  is  shown  by  His  shaping  of  history.     41. 

Jehovah  chose  and  equipped  Israel  to  be  His  SERVANT,  ap- 
pointed to  establish  justice  and  to  reveal  the  truth.     42 : 1-9. 

Let  the  whole  world  celebrate  Jehovah's  redemption  of  His  people. 
42 : 10-17. 

Israel's  plight  a  well-deserved  discipline  from  which  He  is  now 
ready  and  able  to  deliver  her.     4i§ :  18-43  :  7. 

Israel's  splendid  task  is  to  bear  witness  to  His  redemptive  good- 
ness.    43 : 8-13. 

The  deliverance,  not  due  to  Israel's  merits,  but  to  His  grace. 
43 : 14-28. 

It  will  cause  non-Israelites  to  enrol  themselves  among  His  people. 
44 : 1-5. 

In  view  of  Jehovah's  uniqueness  how  foolish  Idolatry  seems ! 
44 :  6-23. 

Jehovah,  God  of  creation  and  prophecy,  will  grant  victory  and 
riches  to  His  anointed,  thus  giving  salvation  to  the  world. 
44  :  24-45  :  25. 

Chaldea's  hand-made  gods  are  borne  here  and  there,  but  Jehovah 
always  carries  His  people.     46. 

Babylon,  the  haughty,  luxurious  mistress  of  kingdoms,  in  spite  of 
her  magic  and  her  wise  men,  is  about  to  be  shamefully  over- 
thrown.    47. 

The  crowning  proof  of  Jehovah's  greatness  and  goodness  Is  about 
to  take  place;  notwithstanding  Israel's  obstinate  sinfulness,  the 
Eternal  is  about  to  deliver  her.    48. 


3.  The  Fall  of  Babylon  and  Friendly  Attitude  of 
Cyrus  (539  B.  C). 
After  having  completed  the  conquest  of  other  parts 
of  Asia,  Cyrus  was  at  last  ready,  in  539  B.  C,  to  con- 
quer the  Chaldean  territories,  and  thus  to  make  him- 
self the  supreme  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  the  active 
world  of  that  day.  The  process  was  brief.  He  ad- 
vanced against  Babylon,  the  capital  city.  Internal 
treachery  on  the  part  of  those  who  despised  and  hated 
Nabuna'id,  the  last  Chaldean  sovereign,  opened  the 
gates  to  Cyrus,  who  received  a  hearty  welcome  from 
many  more  than  those  who  had  the  status  of  captives. 


56     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

For  the  next  thousand  years  the  ruling  influence  in 
Western  Asia  was  Aryan  rather  than  Semitic. 

Cyrus  was  a  great  ruler,  who  could  deal  with  peoples 
fairly.  He  justified  the  hopes  of  those  who  had  so 
eagerly  anticipated  his  coming  by  letting  them  under- 
stand that  he  would  place  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
their  return  to  their  homes. 

4.  The  Great  Glory  and  the  Wonderful  Task  to  be 
Zion's  Through  Her  Sacrifice  and  Suffering 
(Isaiah  49-55).    About  538  B.  C. 

In  these  remarkable  chapters  the  arguments  which 
prepared  the  captives  to  expect  the  downfall  of  Baby- 
lon no  longer  appear.  Instead  the  prophet  faces  the 
future  in  a  very  noble  way.  An  appropriate  date 
seems  to  be  the  time  immediately  succeeding  the  cap- 
ture of  the  city.  The  three  great  themes  are  the  mis- 
sion of  the  "Servant"  and  its  method,  the  reunion  of 
Zion  with  Jehovah  her  husband,  and  her  glorious 
future. 

The  prophet  uses  two  beautiful  figures  of  speech, 
each  meaning  the  Israel  which  was  to  carry  out  Jeho- 
vah's plans,  the  "remnant,"  that  Israel  of  the  spirit 
which  in  truth  would  respond  to  Jehovah's  loving  dis- 
cipline and  would  devote  itself  to  His  purposes.  One 
of  these  is  the  "Servant,"  which  is  ideal  Israel,  thought 
of  as  Jehovah's  instrument  in  restoring  the  unity  and 
prosperity  of  the  nation  and  in  extending  the  knowledge 
of  Jehovah  over  the  world.  The  other  figure  is  Zion, 
not  just  the  city,  but  the  community,  now  penitent 
and  humbled,  but  about  to  receive  great  blessings  and 
much  glory. 

The  great  missionary  task  for  which  Jehovah  has  prepared  the 

SERVANT.     Isaiah  49  :  1-6. 
Abhorred  Israel  shall  be  honored;  her  exiles  shall  return.     49  :  7-18. 
Zion  shall  speedily  be  repopulated  and  rebuilt.     49 :  14-21. 


ISAIAH   40-55  57 

At  the  powerful  word  of  Jehovah — still  Israel's  husband — the  na- 
tions shall  solicitously  return  her  home.     49 :  22-50  :  3. 

The  vigilant,  docile  SERVANT  will  endure  his  bitter  experiences, 
relying  on  Jehovah.     50:4-11. 

Let  Jehovah's  true-hearted  followers  take  coiu-age.  He  is  behind 
them.     51 :  1-16. 

O  humiliated  Jerusalem,  prepare  to  welcome  Him  joyfully  with 
the  exiles  from  Babylon.     51 :  17-52 :  12. 

The  SERVANT,  whose  unparalleled  and  undeserved  sufferings 
open  the  way  for  the  redemption  and  forgiveness  of  the  heathen 
world,  shall  be  gloriously  exalted.     52 :  13-53  :  12. 

Zion,  now  desolate,  shall  be  populous,  radiantly  beautiful,  prosper- 
ous and  secure.     54. 

Let  every  one  be  eager  to  share  in  the  covenant  blessings  which 
Jehovah  has  in  store  the  fulfilment  of  His  plans  is  at  hand.     55. 

5.    The  Commanding  Ideas  of  This  Prophetic  Thinker. 

Just  as  Ezekiel  enabled  the  disheartened  exiles  to  get 
a  fresh  grip  on  life  and  made  them  settle  down  for  a 
generation,  so  this  great  unnamed  prophet  not  only 
announced  their  coming  freedom,  but  assigned  to  it  a 
task  at  once  inspiring  and  unique.  To  convert  their 
despairing  acquiescence  into  alert,  earnest  hopefulness 
demanded  nothing  less  than  a  miracle.  It  required  an 
assurance  that  the  exile  was  at  an  end,  but  much  more. 

The  convincing  declarations  in  regard  to  the  end  of 
the  exile  were  set  forth  in  chapters  40-48.  These  pre- 
dictions asserted  the  victorious  career  of  Cyrus,  his 
appointment  of  Jehovah's  agent,  the  certain  fall  of 
Babylon,  Jehovah's  readiness  to  take  action,  the  ab- 
surdity of  pitting  idols  against  Him,  and  the  sure  return 
of  the  exiles  to  Judah. 

In  chapters  49-55  are  set  forth  the  greater  plans  of 
which  those  mentioned  were  only  anticipatory.  Israel 
is  God's  Servant;  her  mission  is  to  bring  all  peoples 
to  Him;  her  true  missionary  career  is  now  to  begin. 

Thinking  of  these  prophecies  as  a  whole  (40-55),  five 
great  ideas  stand  out:  (1)  Jehovah  is  incomparable,  the 
one  and  only  God,  whose  purposes  can  only  be  under- 


58  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

stood  by  one  who  reviews  history  and  appreciates  its 
moral  values;  (2)  He  chose  Israel  to  be  His  agent  in 
saving  the  whole  world;  (3)  this  agent  is  not  the  Israel 
by  birth,  but  Israel  the  "remnant,"  the  sum-total  of 
godly  Israelites,  purified  by  suffering  and  discipline, 
eager  for  service;  (4)  this  new  Israel  is  to  have  a  great 
missionary  program:  her  task  is  to  bring  all  people  to 
the  feet  of  Jehovah,  not  by  force,  not  merely  by  procla- 
mation, but  by  the  exhibit  of  godhke  character;  (5) 
Israel's  home  base,  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  joyful,  pros- 
perous, blessed  in  every  way,  will  be  a  center  of  light 
for  the  world.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  satisfy- 
ing statement  of  real  religion  in  the  sixth  century  B.  C. 
In  these  chapters,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  the  mis- 
sionary ideal  is  stated  in  universal  terms.  It  marks 
the  highest  possible  level  of  religious  thought. 


IX 


THE  TWO  PROPHETS  OF  THE  BUILDING  OF 
THE  SECOND  TEMPLE 

Haggai  and  Zechariah  (520-516  B.  C.) 

It  is  one  of  the  paradoxes  of  history,  no  less  than  an 
illuminating  exhibit  of  human  nature,  that,  when 
Cyrus  gave  permission  to  the  Jews  to  leave  Chaldea 
and  to  return  to  Judah,  carrying  with  them  their  sacred 
vessels,  in  order  to  set  up  once  more  their  old  religious 
life  at  the  old  home,  the  great  majority  of  them  had 
no  desire  to  return.  They  preferred  the  opportunities 
of  the  larger  world  of  which  they  had  become  a  part  to 
the  restrictions  and  privations  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
then  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  ruin.  They  preferred 
the  world  of  business  opportunity  to  that  of  agricul- 
ture. They  may  have  seemed  selfish  in  this  choice. 
The  great  prophet  may  have  been  bitterly  disappointed 
at  their  attitude.  Yet  this  very  reluctance  fitted  into 
the  Divine  plans.  The  greater  part  of  Judaism  be- 
came peripatetic.  Jews  penetrated  everywhere,  yet 
remained  good  Jews.  Unconsciously  they  became,  in 
their  way,  evangelists  of  a  higher  type  of  faith. 

Some  did  return.  The  precise  number  and  occasion 
are  matters  of  discussion.  The  book  of  Ezra  states  that 
a  good-sized  delegation  returned  to  Judah  promptly, 
about  536  B.  C,  rebuilt  the  altar  on  the  old  Temple 
site,  inaugurated  a  regular  service  and  began  to  build 
the  second  Temple,  but  that,  by  the  interference  of 
jealous  enemies,  the  work  was  blocked  for  fifteen  years. 
Other  writers  seem  to  imply  a  failure  to  act  at  all.     In 

59 


60  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

any  case  the  returned  exiles  who  were  in  Judah  about 
520  B.  C.  were  stirred  to  enthusiasm  in  regard  to  the 
immediate  building  of  the  Temple  by  two  prophets, 
Haggai  and  Zechariah,  who  urged  them  and  their  lead- 
ers, Zerubbabel,  the  prince,  and  Joshua,  the  high 
priest,  to  begin  work  at  once. 

1.  The  Contrasting  Personalities  of  the  Two  Prophets, 

Haggai  and  Zechariah. 
Two  more  diverse  men  could  hardly  be  imagined, 
yet  each  was  a  real  leader  of  men.  Haggai  was  busi- 
ness-like, yet  clever;  Zechariah  was  a  scholar  with  all 
the  resources  of  a  trained  intellect,  as  graphic  in  his 
methods  as  Ezekiel.  He  could  put  his  pleas  into  the 
form  of  visions  for  others  to  interpret.  Haggai  was 
more  direct,  yet  he  was  not  destitute  of  imagination. 
They  made  a  remarkably  efficient  pair  of  rehgious 
leaders. 

2.  Their  Repeated  Appeals  to  the  Community  to 

Build  the  Temple. 
The  Jewish  community  seems  to  have  become  apa- 
thetic. Perhaps  the  distressing  contrast  between  the 
glowing  predictions  of  the  great  unknown  prophet  of 
Babylon  and  the  sober  realities  of  life  in  Judah  had 
made  them  cynical  and  selfish.  In  their  struggle  to 
maintain  themselves  they  had  gradually  forgotten  all 
other  obligations.  Their  awakening  to  duty  and  to 
opportunity  required  the  veritable  bombardment  which 
they  certainly  received.  Within  four  months  the  two 
prophets  made  six  fervid  appeals  to  the  people  to  do 
their  duty. 

September  1,  520  B.  C.  by  Haggai:  "Reflect  on  the  explanation 
of  your  disappointed  hopes;  then  arise  and  build."  Haggai 
1 : 1-11. 


HAGGAI  AND  ZECHARIAH  61 

September  24,  by  Haggai:  "Remember  that  Jehovah  is  with  you 
in  this  enterprise."     Haggai  1 :  12-15. 

October  21,  by  Haggai:  "To  this  temple,  so  unpretentious  and  un- 
attractive in  the  eyes  of  some  of  you,  will  flow  the  riches  of  all 
nations,  so  that  it  will  be  very  glorious."     Haggai  2 : 1-9. 

November,  by  Zechariah:  "Be  not  like  your  stubborn  fathers. 
They  did  evil  and  were  punished."     Zechariah  1 : 1-6. 

December  24,  by  Haggai:  "The  priests  declare  that  uncleanness  is 
more  infectious  than  holiness.  Rebuild  the  temple,  that  with 
increased  holiness  may  come  fresh  prosperity."    Haggai  2 :  10-19. 

December  24,  by  Haggai:  "O  Zerubbabel,  Persia  will  be  over- 
thrown. In  that  day  you  shall  be  Jehovah's  viceregent." 
Haggai  2 :  20-23. 

Haggai  was  certainly  specific  in  his  expectation  of  a 
breaking  up  of  the  Persian  empire  and  of  the  reign  of 
Zerubbabel,  who  was  the  living  Davidic  "shoot"  or 
"branch." 

3.  The  Eight  Visions  of  Zechariah  Concerning  the 
Community  (Beginning  February,  519  B.  C). 
These  visions  were  really  powerful  sermons,  either 
bringing  a  message  of  comfort  or  of  hope,  or  indicating 
the  moral  standards  which  should  be  upheld  in  the 
community  of  Jehovah's  people. 

The  mounted  messengers  who  report  that  the  world  is  at  peace. 
"This  does  not  mean  a  deathblow  to  all  hope.  Jehovah  loves 
Zion  dearly.    He  will  keep  all  His  promises."    Zechariah  1 :  7-17. 

The  four  horns  representing  world  powers.  "A  blacksmith  stands 
ready  to  crush  each  one."     1 :  18-21. 

The  surveyor  with  the  measuring  line.  "Why  survey  Jerusalem  ? 
Jehovah  will  defend  the  city  which  will  overspread  any  walls." 
2:1-5. 

The  high  priest,  Joshua,  confirmed  in  his  priesthood,  purified  and 
honored.  "Jehovah  confirms  your  authority,  O  Joshua,  as  an 
earnest  of  our  expectation  of  the  BRANCH.  (Compare  Isaiah 
11:1;  Jeremiah  23:5;  33:15.)     3:1-11. 

The  golden  seven-branched  candelabrum  flanked  by  the  two 
guardian  olive  trees.  "Jehovah  is  on  the  watch  through  His 
representatives.  Scoffers  will  rejoice  when  Zerubbabel  sets  the 
capstone  of  the  Temple."     4  :  1-5,  6a,  lOb-14,  6b-10a. 

The  flying  roll  of  parchment,  searching  out  evil-doers.  "Jeho- 
vah's curse  shall  be  eflBcient  against  thieves  and  perjiu-ers." 
5 : 1-4. 


62     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

The  woman  in  the  large  jar.  "She  is  Madame  Wickedness,  to  be 
carried  off  to  Chaldea,  where  she  belongs."     5  :  5-11. 

The  four  war  chariots  of  Jehovah.  "Divine  justice  will  be  sat- 
isfied by  a  judgment  upon  the  north  country."     6 : 1-8. 

Three  of  these,  the  first,  second,  and  eighth,  dealt 
with  the  relations  of  the  Jewish  community  to  the  out- 
side world,  declaring  that  Jehovah  was  able  to  cope 
with  any  situation.  Three  others,  the  third,  sixth,  and 
seventh,  dealt  with  the  security,  size,  and  moral  con- 
ditions of  the  community  under  Divine  guardianship. 
The  remaining  two,  the  fourth  and  fifth,  expressed  the 
sense  of  hopefulness  due  to  the  reassumption  by  the 
community  of  its  religious  privileges  and  obligations. 
To  conceive  of  a  series  of  prophetic  sermons,  more 
definite,  more  stirring,  more  suited  to  the  situation 
would  be  diflficult.  Zechariah  was  a  true  coadjutor  of 
the  great  Unknown,  who  may  have  been  a  resident  of 
the  Jerusalem  community,  since  there  is  evidence  that 
Isaiah  60-62  was  written  in  Palestine.  Some  students 
would  place  Isaiah  49-55  in  Palestine. 

4.  Zechariah's  Later  Prophetic  Utterances  (About 
519-517  B.  C). 
These  wonderful  visions,  which  were  probably  put 
forth  from  time  to  time  during  a  period  of  some  months 
following  February,  519,  gave  Zechariah  a  clear  place 
as  the  trusted  adviser  of  the  community  and  made  him 
widely  known.  At  some  later  date,  perhaps  within 
519,  a  deputation  of  four  men  came  from  Babylon  to 
Jerusalem  with  gifts,  which,  doubtless,  were  to  help  in 
completing  the  Temple.  This  gave  the  prophet  another 
opportunity  to  honor  Zerubbabel  as  the  civil  head  of 
the  community  and  the  focus  of  Jewish  hopes. 

The  golden  crown  for  Zerubbabel.  "Make  a  crown  from  the 
golden  gift  from  Babylon,  place  it  on  the  head  of  Zerubbabel, 


HAGGAI  AND  ZECHARIAH  63 

the  BRANCH,  who  will  build  the  Temple  and  rixle  with  Joshua 
as  his  coadjutor."  ^    Zechariah  6  :  9-15. 

The  reply  to  the  deputation  from  Bethel  which  inquired  about 
the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  fasts  in  memory  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  (December  4,  518  B.  C). 

"Did  you  fast  in  order  to  express  repentance?  Your  own  experi- 
ence and  the  teaching  of  the  prophets  have  taught  that  what 
Jehovah  really  desires  are  deeds  of  brotherliness,  justice  and 
mercy."     Zechariah  7 : 1-14. 

Ten  predictions  regarding  the  Jerusalem-to-be.  (1)  Dearly  loved 
by  Jehovah  (vs.  1,  2);  (2)  A  faithful  city  (v.  3);  (3)  A  com- 
munity of  safe,  happy  homes  (vs.  4,  5);  (4)  An  achievement 
wholly  possible  for  Jehovah  (v.  6) ;  (5)  A  city  to  whose  security 
Jehovah  will  bring  back  the  exiles  (vs.  7,  8);  (6)  A  commimity 
very  prosperous  (vs.  9-13);  (7)  A  righteously  acting  community 
(vs.  14-17);  (8)  Which  turns  fasts  into  holidays  (vs.  18,  19);  (9) 
Attracting  peoples  who  will  visit  Jerusalem  to  gain  a  blessing 
(vs.  20-22) ;  (10)  Peoples  of  various  tongues  will  desire  to  become 
Jews  and  followers  of  Jehovah  (v.  23).     Zechariah  8. 

These  declarations  reach  a  very  high  level  ethically 
and  spiritually.  Their  value  in  the  readjustment  of 
religious  standards  and  practice  in  the  Judean  com- 
munity must  have  been  very  great. 

5.    The  Apocalyptical  Element  in  Prophecy. 

With  Haggai  and  Zechariah  appears  a  growing  phase 
of  prophecy  destined  in  time  to  supplant  true  prophecy 
altogether.  This  phase  found  its  earliest  expression  in 
Zephaniah's  declaration,  about  a  century  before,  that 
Jehovah  (Zephaniah  3 :  8)  would  assemble  the  nations 
for  judgment,  thus  giving  the  righteous  "remnant"  a 
chance.  Ezekiel  (chs.  38,  39)  even  more  explicitly 
looked  forward  to  a  sweeping  judgment  of  Jehovah 
which  would  eventually  dispose  of  hostile  peoples  and 
enable  Him  to  fulfil  His  promises.  This  anticipation 
of  a  future  putting  forth  of  almighty  power  was  nour- 
ished by  the  political  helplessness  of  the  Jews.  No 
other  way  of  bringing  true  Israel  to  the  leadership  of 
the  world  seemed  possible.     It  really,  however,  placed 

JJFor  the  necessary  readjustment  of  verses  11-13,  consult  a  good  commentary. 


64     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

a  limitation  upon  God's  power  and  assumed  that  His 
purposes  were  only  to  be  fulfilled  materially.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  these  prophets  were  unable  to  grasp  at 
the  time  God's  real  way  of  fulfilling  prophecy.  Haggai 
and  Zechariah  seem  to  have  been  confident  that  God 
would  speedily  open  the  way  for  Zerubbabel  to  be  the 
fulfiller  of  the  Messianic  hopes  expressed  since  Isaiah's 
time.  It  seems  very  clear,  one  may  say  in  all  rever- 
ence, that  in  this  respect  they  went  beyond  what  Jeho- 
vah had  revealed  to  them.  Their  God-given  task  was 
to  build  the  Temple,  and  to  reconstruct  the  commu- 
nity. It  seemed  to  them  that  the  next  step  must  be 
the  realization  of  dynastic  hopes  in  Zerubbabel;  but 
this  turned  out  not  to  be  a  part  of  God's  plan. 

Other  peculiarities  of  sixth-century  prophecy  are 
noteworthy.  Zechariah,  like  Ezekiel,  revelled  in  the 
use  of  symbolism.  This  may  have  been  due  in  part 
to  the  Chaldean  environment,  with  which  both  were 
familiar;  and  in  part  to  the  danger  of  being  too  explicit. 
Zechariah,  too,  makes  use  of  angelic  intermediaries  be- 
tween Jehovah  and  His  people.  Angelology  in  the 
Bible  is  clearly  due  in  part  to  the  influence  of  Persia 
upon  Hebrew  thinking.  In  a  growing  degree  Jehovah 
became  aloof,  supreme  in  majesty.  The  thought  of 
fellowship  with  Him,  stressed  by  Jeremiah,  receded, 
to  be  kept  alive  by  psalmists,  until  reasserted  by  Jesus. 

Prophecy,  therefore,  was  already  imconsciously  work- 
ing away  from  the  splendid  idealism  of  Isaiah  40-55, 
under  the  spell  of  the  enthusiasm  aroused  by  the 
thought  of  community  restoration  and  prosperity. 
Israel's  glory  rather  than  Israel's  task  occupied  the 
hearts  of  the  religiously  minded.  A  trend  of  thinking 
developed  which  was  never  set  straight,  until  Jesus 
recalled  to  his  disciples  the  essential  teachings  of  the 
spiritually  minded  prophets. 


HAGGAI  AND  ZECHARIAH  65 

6.  The  Completion  and  Dedication  of  the  Second 
Temple  (Ezra  5,  6).  516  B.  C. 
Under  the  competent  leadership  of  Haggai,  Zechariah, 
Zerubbabel,  and  Joshua,  the  Temple  was  pushed  to 
completion,  in  spite  of  all  manner  of  delays  and  diffi- 
culties, in  516  B.  C.  The  writer  of  Ezra  implies  that 
the  sanction  of  the  great  Darius  himseK  was  eventually 
obtained  for  the  enterprise.  The  successful  outcome 
was  mainly  due,  however,  to  the  earnest  and  diligent 
service  of  the  people,  who  rejoiced  greatly  over  the 
completion  of  the  project.  Haggai  did  not  err  in 
asserting  the  significance  of  this  Temple,  modest  as  it 
must  have  been  in  comparison  to  the  former  one.  It 
quickly  became  the  working  center  of  Judaism,  the 
symbol  of  everything  important  in  Jewish  life. 


THE  PROPHETS  OF  COMMUNITY  REFORM 
JUST  PRECEDING  NEHEMIAH 

(About  450  B.  C.) 

More  than  half  a  century,  spanning  the  remainder  of 
the  long  reign  of  Darius  the  Great  (521-485  B.  C.)>  the 
reign  of  his  son,  Xerxes  I  (486-466  B.  C.)j  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  I  (466-425  B.  C),  seems 
to  have  passed  before  another  period  of  prophetic  activ- 
ity was  reached.  Why  this  was  so  we  may  only  con- 
jecture. On  the  one  hand,  the  completion  of  the  Tem- 
ple was  an  achievement  so  notable  as  to  satisfy.  The 
prophets  had  set  forth  the  methods  and  spirit  which  it 
was  to  inaugurate  and  the  ends  it  would  help  to  accom- 
phsh.  Naturally  they  would  wait  to  see  what  would 
happen.  On  the  other  hand,  the  dynastic  hopes  which 
had  rested  on  Zerubbabel  were  gradually  disappointed. 
Just  as  soon  as  Darius  felt  himself  ifirmly  settled  on  his 
imperial  throne,  he  reorganized  the  empire  in  accord- 
ance with  a  new  system.  In  place  of  the  native  lead- 
ership recognized  by  Cyrus,  Darius  appointed  gover- 
nors wholly  unrelated  to  the  people  governed.  This 
policy  probably  accounted  for  the  unrecorded  disap- 
pearance of  Zerubbabel  and  his  descendants.  They 
never  had  a  chance  to  rule  Judah. 

For  some  reason  not  clearly  known  the  Judean  com- 
munity gradually  became  more  or  less  demoralized. 
It  kept  up  the  formal  worship  at  the  Temple,  but  slack- 
ened in  its  enthusiasm.  A  spirit  of  greed  and  selfish- 
ness prevailed,  a  very  natural  accompaniment  of  dis- 
couragement.   All  this  is  reflected  in  Isaiah  56-59, 


ISAIAH  56-66,  OBADIAH,  MALACHI      67 

63-66,  and  in  Malachi.  Since  each  of  these  refers  to 
Edom's  recent  calamity,  which  is  Hkewise  the  theme  of 
Obadiah,  the  three  are  grouped  as  prophetic  sermons 
of  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  reform  of  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah.  Isaiah  60-62  may  belong  to  the  period 
immediately  following  the  completion  of  the  Temple. 

1.  The  Great  Unknown's  Last  Vision  Regarding  Jeru- 

salem (Isaiah  60-62;   19:18-25).    About  500 

B.  C. 
These  three  chapters  are  very  much  like  chapters 
40-55,  yet  they  seem  quite  certainly  to  have  been  writ- 
ten in  Jerusalem  after  the  completion  of  the  Temple 
(60  :  7)  and  before  Nehemiah's  day  (60  :  10). 

The  glories  of  restored  Jerusalem.     Isaiah  60. 

The  many-sided  task  of  the  true  prophet.     61 : 1-4. 

Jehovah's  people  shall  be  the  privileged  among  nations.     61 :  5-11. 

Righteous,  triumphant  Israel  shall  be  Jehovah's  delight,  protected 

from  despoiling.     62 : 1-9. 
Let  all  exiles  return,  so  that  Zion  shall  be  recognized  and  honored. 

62:  10-12. 
The  great  political  and  religious  transformation  which  the  world 

will  see.     19 :  18-25. 

These  beautiful  expressions  of  the  joyousness,  glory, 
and  greatness  of  the  task  awaiting  Jehovah's  people, 
its  many-sidedness,  its  blessedness,  brilliance  and  uni- 
versal range  represent  again  the  loftiest  height  of  Old 
Testament  aspiration.  Intelligent,  generous,  sacrifi- 
cial, spiritual  world  service  was  a  far  greater  ideal 
than  social  justice  and  community  brotherhood. 

2.  Isaianic  Messages  of  Condemnation,  Promise,  and 

Exhortation  to  the  Judean  Community  (Isaiah 
5^59>  63-66).    About  460  B.  C. 

Those  who  practise  righteousness,  even  eunuchs  and  foreigners, 

shall  have  full  Temple  rights.     Isaiah  56  :  1-8. 
The  gluttonous,  drunken  rulers  of  the  community  and  those  who 

practise  heatheaish  ways  Jehovah  must  punish.    56 :  9-57 :  13. 


68     OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

To  the  humble  and  contrite  the  Holy  One  brings  comfort,  peace, 

and  fellowship.     57:  14-21. 
True  Temple  worship  is  not  a  perfunctory  observance  of  forms, 

but  genuinely  righteous  procedure.     58. 
With  the  crimes  of  the  community  which  hinder  its  salvation 

Jehovah  will  resolutely  deal.     59. 
The  "day"  of  His  triumphant  vengeance  over  His  foes  is  at  hand. 

63:1-6. 
"  Just  as  thou,  O  Jehovah,  didst  lovingly  deliver  thy  people  in  the 

past,  so  intervene  again  for  us,  unworthy  as  we  are."     63 : 7- 

64:12. 
The  half-heathen  in  the  community  will  incur  Jehovah's  righteous 

judgment:  the  faithful  and  loyal  He  will  vindicate  and  bless. 

65,  66. 

A  careful  reading  shows  that  these  chapters  neither 
mention  a  dehverance,  hke  chapters  40-48,  nor  do 
they  refer  to  Israel's  world  mission,  like  chapters 
49-55.  They  deal  with  community  reform  in  loyalty 
to  the  great  ideals  of  the  past,  a  noble  theme,  yet  quite 
distinct  from  those  which  occupied  the  forefront  of 
prophetic  thinking  in  the  exile. 

3.    The  Vision  of  Obadiah  Regarding  Edom  (Obadiah). 
460-450  B.  C. 

This  short  prophetic  outburst  must,  on  its  face,  be 
later  than  586  B.  C,  the  date  of  Jerusalem's  destruc- 
tion (v.  11).  As  a  whole  it  reflects  some  great  disaster 
which  has  come  upon  the  Edomites,  over  which  the 
prophet  expresses  satisfaction.  This  disaster  was  prob- 
ably their  expulsion  from  Petra,  their  home,  by  the 
Nabataeans,  at  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century 
B.  C. 


Word  comes  that  other  nations  have  combined  against  Edom. 

Obadiah,  v.  1. 
That  proud,   self-sufficient  people  Jehovah  easily   can  humble. 

vs.  2-4. 
O  Edom,  your  trusted  allies  have  driven  you  out,  despite  your 

wise  men  and  warriors,     vs.  6-9. 


ISAIAH  56-66,   OBADIAH,  MALACHI       69 

This  has  happened  in  recompense  for  your  aloofness  and  cruelty 

in  the  day  of  Judah's  distress,     vs.  10-14. 
In  the  day  of  Jehovah's  judgment  Israel  will  in  her  turn  destroy 

Edom  according  to  her  deserts  and  once  more  possess  her  own 

ancestral  land.     vs.  15-21. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  paean  of  Nahum,  this  shout  of 
joy  over  the  rumored  destruction  of  a  people  is  to  be 
interpreted  as  due  to  the  thought  of  the  removal  of  an 
obstruction  to  Israel's  future,  not  to  a  spirit  of  malig- 
nancy. 

4.    Malachi's  Appeal  for  a  True  Community  Reform 
(Malachi).    About  450-440  B.  C. 

The  book  of  Malachi  is  really  anonymous.  The 
name  may  be  merely  descriptive.  It  means  "my  mes- 
senger." The  low  moral  and  spiritual  tone  of  the 
community,  the  lack  of  zeal  for  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  Temple  service,  and  the  prevalence  of  a 
spirit  of  skepticism  and  discouragement,  which  these 
prophecies  reflect,  are  the  very  evils  which  Nehemiah 
and  Ezra  aimed  to  reform.  Hence  Malachi  is  prob- 
ably to  be  dated  not  long  before  444  B.  C,  the  gen- 
erally accepted  date  of  the  thorough-going  movement 
for  reform  which  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  the  Law 
as  presented  by  the  scribal  movement,  and  in  the 
establishment  of  Judaism  as  the  regulatory  system  of 
social  and  religious  life.  The  opening  reference  to 
Edom's  disaster  alludes,  in  all  probability,  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  that  people  by  the  Nabatseans,  referred  to 
above.  The  community  was  ruled  by  a  Persian  gov- 
ernor (1:8). 

Superscription  by  the  editor.     Malachi  1:1. 
Jehovah's  attitude  toward  Edom  only  goes  to  prove  His  discrimi- 
nating love  for  Jacob.     1 :  2-5. 
Yet  the  priesthood  of  the  Temple  dishonor  Him,  daring  to  offer 


70  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

blemished  sacrifices,  regarding  their  duties  as  wearisome,  wholly 

unworthy  of  their  great  heritage.     1 :  6-2 :  9. 
Moreover  the  people  profane  their  covenant  with  Jehovah  by 

divorcing  their  Jewish  wives  in  order  to  marry  foreign-born 

women.     2 :  10-16. 
Jehovah's  purifying  judgment  will  come  suddenly  to  cleanse  the 

priesthood  and  all  evil-doers.     2 :  17-3 :  6. 
Only  the  conscientious  paying  of  what  is  due  Him  will  bring  His 

blessing.     3 : 7-12. 
The  DAY  is  coming  when  the  godless  and  the  faithful  shall  alike 

be  dealt  with  suitably.     3 :  13-4  :  3. 
Obey  the  (Deuteronomic)  Law.     A  second  Elijah  will  come  to  set 

right  all  social  discord.    4 :  4-6. 


5.  The  Leading  Ideas  of  the  Fifth  Century. 

A  growing  spirit  of  legalism  is  reflected  in  the  dec- 
larations of  this  age.  In  the  Isaianic  chapters  and  in 
Malachi  may  be  noted  frequent  references  to  ritual 
observances  and  to  temple  worship.  Another  promi- 
nent theme  is  the  presence  in  the  community  of  out- 
siders. Malachi  lays  stress  upon  racial  purity  and 
reserve.  But  these  prophets  were  more  than  formal- 
ists. They  are  concerned  about  the  spirit  which  under- 
girds  and  expresses  all  observances.  They  assert  real 
moral  and  spiritual  values  in  the  old-fashioned  pro- 
phetic way.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  truly  they  prepared 
the  way  for  the  sweeping  reforms  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

6.  The  Establishment  of  Judaism  (About  444  B.  C). 
In  the  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  is  to  be  found 

the  Chronicler's  account  of  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
community  and  city  under  Nehemiah's  masterly  lead- 
ership and  of  the  propounding  and  adoption  of  the 
Levitical  Law  under  the  joint  auspices  of  Ezra,  the 
scribe,  and  Nehemiah,  the  governor.  The  building  of 
the  wall,  the  reorganization  of  the  community,  and  the 
achievement  of  security  made  the  people,  more  tender 
of  conscience  because  of  the  faithful  preaching  of  these 


ISAIAH  56-66,  OBADIAH,   MALACHI      71 

prophets,  ready  for  a  fresh  religious  start.  Judaism 
began  with  the  solemn  adoption  of  the  Law  as  edited 
by  the  scribal  order.  It  meant  a  considerable  read- 
justment of  life.  It  was  a  great  social  and  religious 
venture,  which  has  functioned  to  the  present  day. 


XI 

PROPHETIC-APOCALYPTIC  VOICES  OF 
LATER  TIMES 

The  remaining  prophetic  passages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment were  increasingly  apocalyptic  in  their  trend.  Re- 
ligious leaders  seemed  to  be  dreaming  of  a  great  miracu- 
lous destructive  interposition  by  Jehovah  which  would 
make  it  possible  for  Israel  to  do  her  part  in  the  world. 
Such  thoughts  tended  to  obscure  the  true  missionary 
idealism  of  the  exile.  They  encouraged  the  people  to 
wait  for  Jehovah  to  act,  instead  of  doing  what  was 
within  their  own  power. 

The  actual  dates  of  these  utterances  are  rather  un- 
certain. 

1.  An  Isaianic  Vision  of  Vengeance  and  Blessing 

(Isaiah  34,  35). 

Jehovah's  judgment  is  sure  to  fall  upon  hostile  nations,  especially 

upon  Edom.     Isaiah  34  : 1-17. 
A  joyous,  beautiful  and  safe  future  shall  then  follow  for  Jehovah's 

people.     35. 

These  sharply  contrasted  pictures  of  catastrophic 
judgment  and  wholesale  vengeance,  to  be  recorded  and 
fulfilled  to  the  letter  (34:  16,  17),  and  of  the  happy, 
healthy,  fertile  life  of  the  godly  minded  are  character- 
istically apocalyptic. 

2.  Joel's  Announcement  of  Jehovah's  Day  of  Judg- 

ment (Joel  1-3).    About  375  B.  C. 
The  three  principal  reasons  for  dating  Joel  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourth  century  are  the  natural  refer- 
ences to  the  small  Judean  community,  to  the  Temple 

Tie 


PROPHETIC-APOCALYPTIC  VOICES      73 

and  to  a  walled  city,  the  references  to  the  Greeks  (3  :  6) 
and  the  apocalyptical  view-point. 

Superscription.     Joel  1:1. 

The  unprecedented  locust  plague  has  caused  widespread  distress. 

1:2-12. 
Summon  the  community  to  a  penitential  assembly  because  of  the 

terrible  visitation.     1 :  13-20. 
Sound  the  alarm:  the  locust  army  is  a  harbinger  of  Jehovah's 

DAY.     2:1-11. 
Even  now  a  public  repentance  may  avail  to  turn  aside  the  Divine 

wrath.     2 :  12-17. 
Jehovah  replies  to  the  repentant  people:  The  locusts  shall  perish 

and  the  land  shall  again  rejoice.     2 :  18-27. 
On  the  new  DAY  the  whole  community  shall  have  the  prophetic 

gift.     2 :  28-32. 
The  nations  which  have  oppressed  Judah  shall  be  judged  by 

Jehovah.     3 : 1-8. 
Let  these  nations  appear  to  meet  their  doom.     3  :  9-17. 
Judah  shall  enjoy  every  coveted  blessing.     3 :  18-21. 

Joel  registers  two  very  distinct  advances  in  religious 
thinking  of  differing  merit.  He  sets  forth  the  great 
idea  that  in  course  of  time  every  one,  high  or  low,  will 
be  the  channel  of  Divine  influence.  He  likewise  ex- 
plicitly declares  Jehovah's  judgment  would  be  a  sweep- 
ing one  against  "the  nations." 

3.    The  Parable  of  Jonah:  A  Protest  Against  Juda- 
ism's Anti-missionary  Spirit  (Jonah  1-4).    About 
300  B.  C. 
The  book  of  Jonah  is  clearly  a  parable.     It  is  full  of 
improbabilities;  yet  it  was  a  marvelously  great  sermon 
to  the  narrow-minded  Jews  who  desired  to  have  the 
nations  destroyed  and  were  not  very  anxious  to  have 
them  repent  and  be  forgiven.     It  reaches  the  highest 
spiritual  levels  of  the  Old  Testament.     Such  a  noble 
picture  of  Divine  love  for  the  world  proves  that  apoca- 
lyptic emphasis  was,  after  all,  only  one  phase  of  later 
Jewish  religious  thought,  and  that  a  true  missionary 
idealism  had  its  advocates. 


74  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

Jonali  vainly  tries  to  evade  the  mission  to  which  God  appointed 

him.     Jonah  1:1-2:  10. 
The  people  of  Nineveh  repent  at  his  preaching  and  are  forgiven.     3. 
The  unhappy  intolerance  of  the  prophet  God  rebukes  by  declaring 

His  unlimited  love  for  the  repentant  world.     4. 

4.  Prophetic  Stories  About  Daniel  and  His  Friends 
(Daniel  i,  3-6).  Third  Century  B.  C. 
The  story  form  was  often  used  in  Hebrew  and  Jewish 
days  to  convey  needed  lessons  of  life.  Ruth,  Esther, 
Jonah,  Tobit,  Judith,  and  the  group  of  stories  regarding 
Joseph  are  illustrative  of  this.  The  Daniel  stories 
probably  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  much  earlier 
than  the  well-established  date  of  the  book  of  Daniel  as 
a  whole.  Their  inaccuracies  regarding  the  events  of 
the  exile  make  it  certain  that  the  knowledge  regarding 
those  days  was  traditional.  Their  value  is  not  that  of 
careful  history,  but  of  stories  which  had  the  power  to 
inspire  and  sustain  Jewish  courage  in  the  late  Greek 
period,  when  it  was  given  so  severe  a  testing. 

How  God  rewarded  the  fidelity  to  the  Law  of  the  four  Jewish  cap- 
tives.    Daniel  1. 

How  He  delivered  from  death  the  three  who  refused  to  aposta- 
tize.    3. 

How  He  himibled  the  mighty  Nebuchadrezzar  because  of  his 
pride.     4. 

How  Belshazzar's  act  of  sacrilege  was  punished.     5. 

How  Daniel,  condemned  to  death  for  his  religious  faithfulness, 
was  preserved  alive  in  the  den  of  lions.     6. 

These  stories  assume  that  the  truly  righteous  man 
is  one  who  strictly  follows  the  precepts  of  Judaism. 
They  nobly  uphold  religious  faithfulness,  the  scorn  of 
personal  consequences,  the  value  of  exact  obedience, 
God's  support  of  devotedness,  His  supremacy  above 
all  earthly  might  or  majesty,  the  seriousness  of  any 
profanation  of  His  holiness.  Their  value  in  the  dread- 
ful days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  beyond  expres- 
sion. 


PROPHETIC-APOCALYPTIC  VOICES       75 

5.  An  Apocalyptic  Vision  of  World  Judgment  (Isaiah 

24-27). 
The  date  of  these  chapters  is  uncertain.     Students 
incline  to  date  them  about  the  time  of  the  victorious 
advance  of  Alexander  the  Great  into  Asia  (330  B.  C.) 
or  later. 

Jehovah's  destructive  judgment  is  about  to  fall  on  all  classes.  His 
enemies  shall  be  trodden  into  the  dust.     Isaiah  24,  25. 

His  own  people  may  rely  on  His  protection.     26  :  1-27  : 1. 

Israel  is  His  vineyard:  His  dealings  with  His  people  will  be  friendly. 
27:2-11. 

Those  who  have  been  lost  will  be  restored.     27  :  12,  13. 

Another  instructive  and  characteristic  apocalypse 
in  which  lyrical  outbursts  which  rejoice  over  world- 
wide catastrophe  (24 : 3,  13,  19,  20),  the  downfall  of 
some  foreign  city  (25 :  1-5)  and  the  crushing  of  Moab 
(25  :  9-12)  alternate  with  tender,  catholic  presentations 
of  Jehovah's  goodness  (25  :  6-8;  28  : 1-7). 

6.  The  Vision  of  a  Judaized  World  Empire  Ruled 

from  Jerusalem  by  the  Prince  of  Peace  (Zech- 

ariah  9-14). 
These  chapters  reflect  another  world  than  chapters 
1-8.     The  foes  are  Greeks,  no  longer  distant  slave- 
traders  as  in  Joel,  but  dangerous  foes  close  at  hand. 

The  conquest  of  Israel's  foes  and  the  setting  up  of  the  Messianic 
Kingdom.     Zechariah  9. 

Jehovah,  as  guardian  and  leader,  will  restore  His  scattered  peo- 
ple.    10. 

Judah's  traitorous  rulers  will  meet  a  well-deserved  fate.  11; 
13 : 7-9. 

Jerusalem  shall  be  delivered  from  hostile  attack  for  a  glorious 
future.     12 : 1-13  :  6;  14. 

These  chapters  clearly  reflect  the  struggle  of  Judaism 
with  Hellenism.    The  Jews  are  world-dwellers.     There 


76  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

is  a  sharp  cleavage  within  Jewish  ranks.  The  times 
are  stormy  and  distressing.  The  final  chapter  is  possi- 
bly the  last  word  of  Biblical  apocalypse.  Its  picture 
of  the  future  is  very  characteristic  and  not  at  all  of  a 
missionary  tone. 

7.    The  Substitution  of  Apocalypse  for  Prophecy. 

The  next  real  prophet  of  Jewish  history  was  John  the 
Baptist,  who  recalled  the  minds  of  his  generation  both 
to  the  appearance  of  the  early  prophets  and  to  their 
stirring  ethical  and  spiritual  messages.  He  was  recog- 
nized at  once  as  a  genuine  prophet.  During  the  inter- 
vening two  centuries  there  had  been  no  lack  of  religious 
leadership,  but  it  was  all  apocalyptic  in  temper.  It  de- 
spaired of  converting  the  world  to  God;  it  waited  for 
Him  to  put  forth  His  power;  it  was  passive  rather  than 
active.  Yet  apocalypse  fulfilled  an  important  function. 
It  was  prolific.  The  books  of  Daniel  and  of  Enoch  were 
followed  by  many  volumes  of  large  circulation.  These 
writers  kept  alive  a  confidence  in  God  and  His  purposes; 
they  reinforced  Jewish  loyalty  to  Him;  they  turned  all 
hopes  to  the  Messiah.  Despite  the  occasional  puerility 
of  their  conceptions  and  their  overemphasis  of  the 
catastrophic  method  which  God  would  adopt,  they  sub- 
served a  useful  purpose.  We  may  be  grateful,  however, 
that  in  the  person  of  our  Lord  there  arose  an  interpreter 
through  whose  sane,  illuminative,  simple  declarations 
regarding  God,  life,  and  service,  the  real  spirit  of  the 
prophets  once  more  spoke  to  men  with  a  fullness  and 
finality  that  made  the  prophets  of  to-day  those  who 
are  most  faithful  in  interpreting  his  messages. 


XII 

A  GENERAL  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW 
PROPHECY 

The  preceding  chapters  have  directed  the  attention 
of  the  student  to  four  matters:  (1)  the  proper  organiza- 
tion chronologically  of  the  prophetic  material;  (2)  the 
personality  of  each  prophet,  so  far  as  known;  (3)  their 
actual  messages,  recorded  by  them  or  by  others;  and 
(4)  the  contribution  of  each  prophetic  period  to  the 
thinking  of  the  world  about  God  and  life.  It  now  re- 
mains to  gather  up  these  and  other  values  more  care- 
fully. 

1.  The  Centuries  of  Prophetic  Activity. 

The  prophets  were  a  recognized  factor  in  the  life  of 
the  Hebrew  people  from  the  days  of  Samuel  and  David, 
when  they  first  attained  some  measure  of  public  recog- 
nition, to  the  Greek  period  or  even  later,  when  there 
still  arose  occasionally  a  prophetic  voice  to  express 
God's  care  for  his  repentant  children,  as  well  as  His 
wrath  upon  the  disobedient  and  the  stubborn.  For 
seven  or  eight  centuries  the  prophetic  order  was  to  be 
reckoned  with  as  a  shaping  influence  over  life  and 
thought.  Of  these  centuries  the  most  important  were 
clearly  the  eighth,  seventh,  and  sixth. 

2.  The  Character  of  That  Activity. 

A  prophet  filled  a  large  and  important  place  in  the 
community  and  state.  The  members  of  the  order  had 
many  functions.  They  were  preachers,  teachers,  per- 
sonal and  public  advisers,  historiographers,  editors. 
They  utilized  any  method  which  gave  them  a  chance  to 

77 


78  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

bring  men  into  line  with  God.  Some  of  them  wrote 
histories  which  were  effective  sermons;  others  preached 
or  wrote  the  powerful  appeals  which  we  have  studied; 
still  others  labored  usefully  but  inconspicuously  as  good 
and  wise  friends  of  the  people.  That  false  prophets 
were  frequent  is  but  a  natural  corollary  of  the  useful- 
ness and  influence  of  the  real  prophets. 

3.  The  Natural  Groupings  of  Prophecy. 

The  Old  Testament  records  show  very  clearly  that 
while  the  prophetic  order  was  always  a  serviceable 
group  in  the  Israelitish  community,  there  were  times  of 
special  emergency  which  called  a  great  leader,  like 
Isaiah,  into  the  forefront.  There  were  also  certain  dis- 
tinct eras  of  such  activity  when  prophetic  groups  ap- 
peared. There  were  also  periods  when  a  group  of 
prophets  did  a  distinctive  service  for  their  people. 
From  the  days  of  Samuel  to  those  of  Zechariah  9-14 
we  may  distinguish  six  fairly  well  defined  groups:  (1) 
the  prophetic  order  and  its  leaders  prior  to  the  days  of 
Amos;  (2)  the  four  prophets  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighth  century:  (3)  the  five  prophets  of  the  half-cen- 
tury preceding  the  exile;  (4)  the  four  prophets  of  the 
seventy  years;  (5)  the  prophets  immediately  antedat- 
ing the  community  reforms  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra; 
and  (6)  the  prophetic-apocalyptic  voices  of  later  days. 
Each  of  these  groups  represents  a  certain  phase  of  re- 
ligious experience  and  is  characterized  by  a  distinctive 
emphasis  upon  ideas. 

4.  The  Prophetic  Personalities. 

Some  of  the  prophets  have  well-defined  personalities. 
They  seem  like  old  friends.  Their  experiences  are  in- 
structive. They  approached  the  problems  of  righteous 
living  from  every  conceivable  angle  of  experience,  so 


A  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW  PROPHECY     79 

that  for  all  time  their  interpretations  of  opportunity 
and  of  duty  are  such  as  stir  men  to  loyalty,  faith,  and 
perseverance.  Men  like  Amos,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and 
Ezekiel  were  real  men,  who  attacked  genuine  human 
problems,  which  are  still  the  problems  of  the  race. 
Men  need  to-day  to  be  brought  into  the  presence  of 
God,  to  have  the  Divine  point  of  viewmade  clear  regard- 
ing their  deeds,  and  to  become  active  instruments  of 
the  Divine  purpose.  These  great  leaders  who  embodied 
in  themselves  the  faith,  the  courage,  and  the  hopeful- 
ness which  helped  their  own  generation  to  face  boldly 
moral  and  spiritual  crises  are  still  inspirers  of  noble 
and  fruitful  living. 

5.    The  Prophetic  Teaching  About  God. 

Each  prophetic  message  started  from  some  deep 
conviction  about  God,  which  gave  authority  and  power 
to  what  the  prophet  had  to  say,  and  led  him  to  predict 
how  Jehovah  would  deal  with  some  critical  human 
situation.  A  conviction  of  Jehovah's  righteousness 
gave  Amos  confidence  to  score  the  unrighteous  daily 
life  of  Israel's  leaders.  It  was  His  loving-kindness 
that  assured  Hosea  that  his  people  would  not  be  de- 
stroyed vindictively  but  rather  disciplined  into  repen- 
tance. It  was  the  thought  of  the  Almighty  ruler  of 
the  world  which  gave  Isaiah  his  sense  of  the  unchange- 
able purpose  of  God  to  be  surely  fulfilled  at  some  future 
time  through  the  repentant  "remnant."  It  was  the 
sense  of  Divine  fellowship  with  God  that  gave  Jeremiah 
courage  to  stand  firm,  when  his  whole  world  opposed 
his  course.  It  was  the  conviction  that  Jehovah  was 
the  Master  Providence  of  the  world  that  gave  to  Jere- 
miah and  Ezekiel  alike  the  certainty  that  the  downfall 
of  the  state  was  not  the  end  of  Jehovah's  plans,  but 
only  their  continuance  with  fresh  force.     It  was  His 


80  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

unrestricted  power  and  goodness  that  encouraged  the 
unnamed  prophet  of  the  exile  to  predict  that  its  end 
was  sure.  Each  prophet  based  his  certitude  and  in- 
sight upon  his  own  growing  vision  of  the  Divine. 

What  a  characterization  of  God  they  came  in  time 
to  make — one  who  is  all-knowing,  all-powerful,  yet 
rather  to  be  described  in  terms  of  character,  perfectly 
moral,  essentially  spiritual.  Yet  their  idea  of  Jehovah 
gave  Him  reality.  He  was  a  Leader,  planning  for  His 
people,  moulding  them  by  the  changing  experiences  of 
human  life  into  fit  instruments  of  His  holy  and  per- 
sistent purpose  for  the  world.  He  was  a  tender  Father, 
infinitely  forgiving,  yet  also  wise.  Such  a  picture  is 
wholly  without  real  parallel  in  Hterature  during  or 
before  the  prophetic  era. 

6.    The  Prophetic  View  of  Social  Duty. 

The  prophets  of  the  two  centuries  preceding  the 
exile  faced  a  situation  which  is  dupUcated  every  day 
of  the  twentieth  century.  During  the  exile  and  ever 
after,  the  Jewish  community  was  a  church  rather  than 
a  nation,  but  from  the  days  of  Uzziah  and  Jeroboam  II 
to  those  of  Zedekiah  it  was  a  people  with  problems 
which  are  wholly  familiar  to  people  to-day  and  quite 
parallel  to  their  own.  Wealth  and  poverty,  justice 
and  bad  faith,  fairmindedness  and  oppression,  good- 
ness and  deviltry  are  conditions  which  modern  com- 
munities have  to  face.  These  prophets  dealt  with  the 
evils  they  saw,  just  as  a  preacher  of  righteousness  in 
any  age  must  do.  They  declared  that  a  God  who  was 
moral  demanded  that  His  people  should  be  moral,  and 
that  a  moral  and  spiritual  breakdown  of  the  people 
would  be  firmly  taken  in  hand  by  Him.  Starting  in 
the  days  of  Amos  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  collective 
responsibility  of  a  family  or  community  or  state  for 


A  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW  PROPHECY     81 

the  acts  of  its  members,  the  prophets,  by  the  time  of 
Ezekiel,  reached  the  explicit  declaration  that  God  holds 
each  normal  human  being  responsible  for  the  right  use 
of  his  own  powers.  These  social  principles  are  still 
sound. 

A  supremely  great  height  of  moral  and  spiritual  duty 
was  expressed  in  Isaiah  40-55.  No  moral  opportunity 
can  be  higher  than  a  sacrifice  made  on  behalf  of  those 
who  are  contemptuous,  incredulous,  or  hostile.  To  be 
despised  and  rejected  of  men  is,  even  to-day,  a  test  of 
sincerity  and  courage  which  few  can  face.  Modern 
social  and  political  life  is  often  more  closely  modelled 
after  the  standards  of  the  age  of  the  Judges  than  by 
those  of  the  prophet  of  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  The 
Old  Testament  still  furnishes  an  impulse  toward  repen- 
tance and  reform  for  the  average  man. 

7.    The  Divine  Plan  in  Prophecy. 

Real  Messianic  prophecy  began  with  Isaiah  and  his 
declarations  regarding  the  leadership  which  God  would 
raise  up  in  due  time  for  the  "remnant."  Of  his  glori- 
ous vision  and  of  those  that  followed  there  will  be 
later  mention.  Far  back  of  this  conception  lies  a 
broader  prophetic  idea,  wrought  into  those  match- 
less narratives  of  Israel's  early  history  which  are  now 
an  indistinguishable  part  of  the  Pentateuch.  It  is  the 
thought  of  the  Hebrews  as  a  chosen  race  from  the  days 
of  their  great  ancestor,  Abraham: 

"I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation. 
And  I  will  bless  thee  and  make  thy  name  great. 
I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee. 
And  him  that  curseth  thee  will  I  curse; 
And  in  thee  shall  all  the  famiUes  of  the  earth  be 
blessed." 


82  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

The  prophetic  writers  of  Israel's  history  made  clear 
His  guidance  of  His  people  through  the  trying  centuries 
of  growth.  They  kept  their  eyes  upon  a  promising 
future.  They  accepted  disasters  as  punishments  well 
deserved  by  a  people  whose  ideals  ought  to  have  been 
loftier  and  more  in  accordance  with  those  of  their  God. 
His  character,  His  choice  of  Israel  to  be  His  people, 
the  moral  and  spiritual  obligations  thus  resting  upon 
them,  and,  particularly,  His  attitude  toward  the  world 
to  which  His  own  people  were  to  be  His  interpreters 
and  messengers  are  elements  in  a  prophetic  vision  of 
history  in  the  making,  which  ever  kept  both  prophets 
and  people  looking  ahead  to  the  certain  fulfilment  of 
the  Divine  plan  for  the  world. 

8.    The  Messianic  Idea  in  Prophecy. 

When  the  prophet  Hosea  grasped  the  wonderful 
truth  that  Jehovah's  greatest  attribute  was  not  His 
power  or  His  righteousness  but  his  unquenchable,  un- 
changing love,  he  really  made  the  Messianic  idea  inev- 
itable. Hosea  did  not  give  it  expression;  a  greater 
than  he,  however,  was  fortunately  at  hand.  Isaiah's 
comprehending  mind  could  see  that  such  a  God  must 
not  only  forgive  one  who  was  repentant,  but  must  also 
make  provision  for  his  service.  Hence  Isaiah  both 
proclaimed  that  there  would  be  a  repentant,  righteous 
"remnant"  and  declared  that  Jehovah  would  give  this 
"remnant"  a  fitting  leadership,  that  it  might  become 
His  true  agent  in  blessing  the  world.  This  leader  was 
to  be  of  the  royal  Davidic  line.  He  was  to  deliver  his 
people  and  reign  over  them  righteously.  He  was  to 
be  a  great  personality,  a  refuge  for  those  in  need.  His 
task  would  be  to  enable  his  people  to  rise  to  the  height 
of  their  best  selves.  He  and  the  "remnant"  had  a 
common  program. 


A  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW  PROPHECY     83 

These  two  ideas,  that  of  a  "remnant,"  really  fitted 
in  character  and  experience  to  execute  God's  plans, 
and  that  of  its  needed  leader,  persist  with  every  later 
prophet  who  alluded  to  the  Divine  purpose  for  the 
world.  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Zechariah  favor  the 
figurative  but  natural  terms,  "branch"  and  "shep- 
herd." The  unnamed  prophet  of  the  exile  used  one 
yet  more  felicitous,  the  "servant,"  a  term  connoting 
the  significance  and  method  of  the  tasks  of  the  leader. 
In  his  great  prophecies  the  term  "servant"  seemed  to 
mean  both  the  "remnant"  and  its  leader,  united  in  the 
great  service  of  world  redemption.  This  ideal  tran- 
scended the  prophetic  thinking  of  later  periods.  A 
military  and  political  rather  than  a  spiritual  leadership 
seemed  to  be  that  for  which  they  longed,  especially  as 
prophecy  verged  into  apocalypse. 

9.    The  Missionary  Idea  in  Prophecy. 

The  idea  that  the  purified  "remnant,"  the  true  Israel, 
God's  agent  in  converting  the  world,  was  to  be  aggres- 
sive in  this  task,  taking  the  message  of  salvation  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  is  one  of  the  climaxes  of  prophetic 
thought.  One  who  reviews  prophecy  before  the  exile 
will  reahze  that  a  true  missionary  view-point  did  not 
exist  in  the  eighth  century.  Isaiah  and  Micah  dreamed 
of  the  world  as  streaming  to  Jerusalem  to  receive  in- 
struction regarding  God.  They  did  not  think  of  the 
Hebrews,  however  devoted,  as  going  out  into  the 
world  with  the  good  news  about  God  and  His  ways. 
Before  a  real  missionary  definition  of  Israel's  duty 
could  be  formulated,  it  was  necessary  that  the  experi- 
ence of  the  people  in  hopeless  exile  should  teach  their 
leaders  that  a  true  religious  life  was  possible  apart 
from  Jerusalem  or  the  Temple  or  its  familiar  ritual. 
It  was  also  necessary  that  they  should  come  to  under- 


84  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

stand  that  each  righteous  individual,  rather  than  the 
nation,  was  God's  working  unit  for  the  execution  of 
His  plans.  A  missionary  program  is  only  possible 
after  religion  becomes  portable  and  individualized,  so 
that  any  people  at  any  place  may,  in  small  groups  or 
even  one  by  one,  be  brought  into  the  family  of  God. 

10.    The  Strength  and  Weakness  of  Apocalypse. 

Prophecy  at  its  best,  like  preaching,  was  frank,  open, 
and  direct.  It  sought  to  influence  action,  to  produce 
results.  It  faced  all  forms  of  sin  and  demanded  repen- 
tance and  righteous  living.  It  regarded  God's  people 
as  chosen  by  Him  in  order  that  they  might  serve  Him 
intelligently  and  with  devotion,  in  His  desire  to  win 
the  world  to  obedience. 

The  apocalyptical  element  in  prophecy  began  to 
appear  after  Jehovah's  people  had  begun  to  realize 
their  political  insignificance  and  weakness  and  the  folly 
of  presuming  to  assume  a  place  of  leadership  among 
the  nations.  It  was  assumed,  wrongly,  of  course,  yet 
naturally,  that  the  Israel  of  God  would  need  to  acquire 
a  political  and  social  control  of  the  world  in  order  to 
become  its  religious  leader.  Thus  Haggai  and  Zech- 
ariah  seemed  to  interpret  the  glowing  promises  of 
Isaiah  40-55,  when  they  predicted  an  immediate  dis- 
ruption of  the  Persian  empire  and  the  aggrandisement 
of  Zerubbabel.  The  solution  they  adopted  was  that 
a  time  would  come  when  Jehovah  would  sweep  away 
all  hostile  powers,  all  opposing  agencies,  and  inaugu- 
rate a  Messianic  era,  when  His  people  would  have  free 
sway.  This  came  to  be  the  keynote  of  popular  preach- 
ing. Its  defects  were  that  it  encouraged  passivity, 
lost  sight  of  a  missionary  program,  placed  all  responsi- 
bility upon  God  and  emphasized  nationalistic  hopes. 
On  the  other  hand,  apocalypse  kept  alive  the  conscious- 


A  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW  PROPHECY     85 

ness  of  God's  power  and  purpose.  Its  despair  of  reach- 
ing Divine  results  by  normal  methods  in  this  world  led 
it  to  explore  the  heavenly  world  of  unseen  realities 
and  to  dwell  upon  it  as  the  answer  to  earthly  disap- 
pointments. The  apocalyptical  thinking  of  the  two 
centuries  before  Christ  became  thus  a  kind  of  bridge 
between  the  religious  ideals  and  aspirations  of  the  pre- 
ceding centuries  and  the  sane,  all-rounded  rehgious 
thinking  of  our  Lord. 

II.  The  Permanent  Contribution  of  Hebrew  Prophecy 
to  Religious  Thinking. 
Only  by  such  a  historical  survey  as  that  furthered 
by  these  outlines  can  a  proper  estimate  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  be  made.  One  who  reverts  to  the  age  of 
Elisha  and  Uzziah  and  Jeroboam  II  realizes  how  com- 
pletely the  religious  life  of  that  day,  however  genuine, 
was  expressed  in  ritual  observances.  Religious  habit 
is  important,  yet  not  the  most  important  element  in 
religion.  One  contribution  of  supreme  importance  to 
true  rehgious  thinking  was  the  direct,  definite  insistence 
of  the  prophets  of  the  eighth  century  upon  character 
as  the  fundamental  element  in  true  religion,  the  dis- 
tinctive element  in  God  Himself,  the  essential  expres- 
sion of  the  Divine  in  hfe.  Those  were  the  fundamental 
assumptions.  A  third  principle  of  religious  life  they 
made  a  corollary  to  these.  True  moral  and  spiritual 
character  must  display  itself  in  the  actions  and  motives 
of  e very-day  life.  Repeatedly  the  prophets  declared 
that  Jehovah  could  not  accept  the  worship  of  those 
whose  actions  failed  to  conform  to  these  principles. 
Another  great  declaration,  made  first  by  Hosea  but 
adopted  by  all  who  followed  him,  emphasized  the 
essential  quality  of  God  as  love,  so  that  vindictiveness 
was  no  trait  of  His.    This  was  a  really  great  and  con- 


86  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

structive  idea.  It  was  paralleled  by  the  declaration  of 
Micah  that  Jehovah  is  essentially  reasonable  in  His 
demands.  The  prophets  of  the  next  century  and  of 
the  exile  brought  out  the  possible  fellowship  of  God 
with  man  and  emphasized  the  creative,  world-ruling, 
sovereign  aspects  of  God.  When  the  great  unnamed 
Isaianic  writer  had  completed  his  picture  of  God's 
power  and  purpose,  the  doctrine  of  God  had  been  set 
forth  in  a  truly  adequate  way  to  the  world. 

The  teaching  of  the  prophets  regarding  man  and  his 
place  in  the  universe  was  equally  fine.  While  most  of 
the  prophets  were  thinking  about  Israel  as  a  chosen 
people,  they  fairly  emphasized  the  idea  that  this  choice 
was  for  service  and  that  it  carried  moral  obligations  of 
a  severe  character.  While  every  prophet  maintained  a 
lofty  moral  standard,  it  took  a  thinker  with  the  free- 
dom and  range  of  an  Isaiah  40-55  to  crown  this  service 
with  the  missionary  ideal  for  the  world. 

No  less  striking  is  the  prophetic  conception  of  the 
greater  world.  It  is  to  be  estimated  by  men  as  God 
estimates  it.  Canon  Freemantle  gained  the  inspiration 
for  his  famous  book,  "The  World  as  the  Subject  of 
Redemption,"  from  the  prophets.  He  adopted  their 
grand  idea  that  the  world  was  to  become  transformed 
in  good  time  into  the  Kingdom  of  God.  This  is  the 
conception  which  unifies  all  prophetic  thinking.  The 
loyal  acceptance  of  Jehovah  by  all  peoples  was  the 
great  objective  before  them.  The  work  of  the  Messiah 
was  only  a  means  to  this  greater  end.  It  was  too  great 
an  idea  for  a  prophet  of  the  eighth  century  B.  C.  to 
grasp  in  all  its  fullness.  Such  a  thinker  could  only 
have  a  vision  of  the  whole  world  coming  to  Jerusalem. 
The  disasters  of  the  seventh  century  forced  Jeremiah 
and  his  associates  and  successors  to  see  that  Jerusalem, 
the  Temple,  and  the  nation  were  not  as  essential  to  the 


A  REVIEW  OF  HEBREW  PROPHECY     87 

working  out  of  the  Divine  plan  as  were  the  purified, 
bbedient  "remnant"  and  their  needed  leader.  Noth- 
ing ever  caused  any  prophet  to  swerve  from  the  belief 
that  eventually  the  whole  world  would  be  Jehovah's. 
Apocalyptists  might  feel  that  the  missionary  process 
could  not  really  begin  until  Jehovah  Himself  opened 
the  way  by  rising  in  His  Divine  might  to  destroy  the 
hostile  influences,  political  or  social,  world-wide  or  local, 
which  were  blocking  Israel's  progress.  Nationalists 
might  emphasize  a  purely  political  ambition  and  for- 
get the  religious  idealism,  yet  the  underlying  thought 
of  God's  rule  of  the  whole  world  was  never  out  of 
mind. 

This  great  thought  is  still  at  the  root  of  all  religious 
progress.  The  missionary  idea  redeems  society  from 
selfishness,  gives  it  a  true  impulse  toward  sound,  sane 
development,  and  focuses  its  attention  upon  God  and 
His  world. 

12.    The  Uniqueness  of  Prophecy. 

Hebrew  prophecy  was  unique  because  the  God  whose 
will  the  prophets  sought  to  express  was  incomparable. 
Just  as  He  was  not  in  the  class  of  ordinary  national 
deities,  so  His  true  prophets  rose  above  the  shrewd- 
ness, the  canniness,  the  conventions  of  a  professional 
group  of  leaders  of  community  religious  and  social  life. 
The  nearest  analogy  in  modern  life  to  the  great  prophets 
of  twenty-five  centuries  or  more  ago  is  to  be  found  in 
the  fearless  interpreters  of  the  Divine  to  men,  who  are 
found  in  the  pulpit  or  in  public  life  or  in  literature. 
Now,  as  then,  God  uses  such  great  persuasive  personali- 
ties to  bring  men  face  to  face  with  moral  and  spiritual 
decisions,  which  shape  destinies.  They  uphold  the 
ideal  in  the  face  of  terrible  pressure  to  relax  its  de- 
mands; they  honor  obedience  to  conscience,  notwith- 


88  OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

standing  the  loss  of  popularity  or  wealth  or  ease  or 
even  life  itself;  they  believe  in  the  irresistible  power  of 
truth  and  right;  they  are  undiscouraged  by  reverses  or 
disappointments;  they  scout  the  permanence  of  sel- 
fish, brutal,  cynical  force;  they  confirm  the  faith  of 
the  world  in  a  future  day  when  God's  ways  will  be 
those  of  the  whole  world.  Prophets  are  still  essential 
in  a  growing  society;  they  forbid  stagnation  and  culti- 
vate alertness.  So  long  as  they  exist  men  will  con- 
tinue to  look  up  and  forward,  will  challenge  evil,  how- 
ever entrenched,  will  value  sacrifice  as  stronger  than 
might,  and  will  fall  into  line  to  do  their  individual 
share  in  making  the  world  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


APPENDIX 


GENERAL  REFERENCE  LITERATURE  FOR 
FURTHER  STUDY 

This  little  volume  is  intended  to  lay  a  broad  founda- 
tion for  a  lifelong  study  of  Old  Testament  prophecy. 
It  should  not  be  regarded  as  a  proper  substitute  for  the 
more  thorough  treatment  to  be  found  in  an  Old  Tes- 
tament history,  in  a  volume  which  discusses  some 
phase  of  prophecy  or  in  a  good  commentary  on  any 
one  of  the  prophetic  books.  It  merely  makes  a  sound 
and  useful  introduction  to  any  subsequent  studies. 
Some  of  the  books  which  may  be  used  to  good  advan- 
tage in  such  studies  are  hereinafter  mentioned.  No 
attempt  is  made  to  make  the  bibliography  complete. 
Every  student,  as  he  or  she  advances  in  an  understand- 
ing of  prophecy,  will  discover  books  of  reference  which 
seem  to  be  of  greatest  usefulness.  A  reference  Ubrary 
varies  to  some  degree  with  the  individual. 

A  student  of  prophecy  should  plan  to  own  in  course 
of  time  a  good  Bible  dictionary,  a  concordance,  an 
atlas,  one  or  two  Old  Testament  histories,  some  good 
commentaries,  and  a  good  history  of  Old  Testament 
literature.  The  suggestions  which  follow  are  intended 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  average  man  or  woman  who 
desires  to  acquire  a  working  knowledge  of  Biblical 
prophecy  for  the  sake  of  a  better  equipment  as  a 
teacher. 

There  are  three  good  Bible  dictionaries,  each  in  one 
volume.  That  by  J.  D.  Davis  (any  denominational 
bookstore)  is  very  condensed,  but  it  answers  all  ques- 

91 


92  APPENDIX 

tions  of  fact.  The  other  two  are  much  more  extensive 
and,  of  course,  more  costly,  yet  they  are  also  more 
illumining.  The  latest  and  best  is  Hastings'  One 
Volume  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  (Scribner's) ;  the  other 
the  Jacobus  Standard  Bible  Dictionary  (Funk  and 
Wagnalls),  is  slightly  more  conservative  in  its  judg- 
ments. There  are  two  concordances  which  are  of 
handy  size,  Cruden's  and  Walker's.  The  former  is 
sold  at  a  very  low  price,  but  is  less  complete  than 
Walker's  Comprehensive  Concordance  (all  religious 
bookstores).  For  a  large  Bible  Atlas  George  Adam 
Smith's  "Atlas  of  the  Historical  Geography  of  the 
Holy  Land"  is  the  best  available.  It  is  quite  expen- 
sive. For  all  practical  purposes  MacCoun's  Atlas 
(Revell)  is  sufficient. 

There  are  two  reliable  and  useful  Old  Testament 
Histories  in  one  volume,  the  author's  "History  of  the 
Hebrews"  (Scribner's)  and  "Old  Testament  History," 
by  Professor  Ismar  J.  Peritz  (Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern). Professor  Kent's  "The  Historical  Bible,"  four 
volumes  covering  the  Old  Testament  (Scribner's), 
covers  the  same  ground  in  much  greater  detail.  On 
Old  Testament  literature,  a  valuable  book  to  own  is 
Professor  Henry  T.  Fowler's  "A  History  of  the  Litera- 
ture of  Ancient  Israel"  (Macmillan).  A  very  recent 
and  very  valuable  volume  which  reviews  the  relation 
of  prophecy  to  national  and  world  problems  is  Knud- 
son's  "The  Prophetic  Movement  in  Israel"  (Meth. 
Book  Concern). 

Of  commentaries  there  are  many.  No  series  is  ever 
perfectly  even.  There  are  two  excellent  one- volume 
commentaries  on  the  whole  Bible.  Dummelow,  "The 
One  Volume  Bible  Commentary"  (Macmillan),  can  be 
commended  as  truly  useful.  Peake's  "A  Commentary 
on  the  Bible  "  (Nelson)  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  com- 


APPENDIX  93 

pact  commentary  in  print.  It  reflects  throughout  the 
historical  view-point.  Whenever  a  student  desires  a 
learned,  minutely  adequate  commentary  on  a  Biblical 
book,  he  is  safe  in  turning  to  the  International  Critical 
Commentary  series  (Scribner's).  For  a  condensed  but 
satisfying  help  he  is  generally  justified  in  purchasing 
the  proper  volume  of  the  New  Century  Bible  (Frowde). 
Specific  books  belonging  to  other  series  will  be  men- 
tioned below  in  the  references  for  each  study. 


II 

REFERENCE  LITERATURE  FOR  EACH  STUDY 

The  first  four  references  in  each  section  will  be  to 
the  appropriate  pages  of  Sanders'  "History  of  the 
Hebrews"  (SHH),  of  Sanders  and  Kent's  "Messages 
of  the  Earlier  Prophets"  (Mess  EP),  or  "Messages  of 
the  Later  Prophets"  (Mess  LP),  of  Kent's  "Historical 
Bible"  (Hist  Bib),  and  of  George  Adam  Smith's  "Book 
of  the  Twelve"  (Sm  Twelve). 

Introduction 

SHH,  88-93,  107-109,  117,  136-139,  146-149;  Mess 
EP,  3-19;  Hist  Bib  I,  203;  II,  38,  39,  74-76;  HI, 
25-53;  Sm  Twelve  I,  3-58. 

Chapter  I,  Amos 
SHH,  149-153;  Mess  EP,  23-44;  Hist  Bib  III,  53-79; 
Sm  Twelve  I,  61-207;  Mitchell,  "Amos,  An  Essay 
on  Exegesis";  New  Century,  "Minor  Prophets,"  I, 
117-177;  Smith,  J.  M.  P.,  "Amos,  Hosea,  and 
Micah." 

Chapter  II,  Hosea  and  Isaiah 
SHH,  153-161;  Mess  EP,  47-108;  Hist  Bib  III,  80- 
102,  128-150;  Sm  Twelve  I,  211-354;  Whitehouse, 
New  Century,  "Isaiah  I-XXXIX,"  passim. 

Chapter  III,  Micah  and  Isaiah 
SHH,  162-170;  Mess  EP,  111-169;  Hist  Bib  III, 
150-181;    Sm   Twelve    I,    357-438;    Whitehouse; 
McFadyen,  "Isaiah"  (Bible  for  Home  and  School). 

94 


APPENDIX  95 

Chapter  IV,  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah 

SHH,  173-182;  Mess  EP,  187-216;  Hist  Bib  III, 

192-218;  Sm  Twelve  II,  3-74;  Driver,  New  Cen- 
tury, "Jeremiah,"  passim. 

Chapter  V,  Nahum,  Jeremiah  and  Habakkuk 
SHH,  183-192;  Mess  EP,  173-183,  219-262;  Hist 
Bib  III,  183-191,  236-269;  Sm  Twelve  II,  77-159; 
Driver,  New  Century,  "Jeremiah,"  passim. 

Chapter  VI,  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel 

SHH,  192-202;  Mess  EP,  265-296;  Mess  LP,  19-60; 
Hist  Bib  III,  269-307;  Driver,  New  Century, 
"Jeremiah";  Davidson,  Cambridge  Bible  "Eze- 
kiel." 

Chapter  VII,  Ezekiel 

SHH,  210-218;  Mess  LP,  72-128;  Hist  Bib  IV,  8-23; 
Davidson,  Cambridge  Bible  "Ezekiel";  McFadyen 
in  Peake's  "Commentary  on  the  Bible,"  pp.  513- 
521. 

Chapter  VIII,  Isaiah  40-55 

SHH,  219-228;  Mess  LP,  131-193;  Hist  Bib  IV,  23- 
34,  53-72,  95-104;  Skinner,  "Isaiah  XI^LXVI" 
(Cambridge  Bible);  G.  A.  Smith,  "Isaiah,"  vol.  II. 

Chapter  IX,  Haggai  and  Zechariah 

SHH,  229-241;  Mess  LP,  197-233;  Hist  Bib  IV, 
35-52;  Sm  Twelve  II,  198-328;  Driver,  New  Cen- 
tury, "Haggai  and  Zechariah,"  1-8,  145-226. 

Chapter  X,  Isaiah  56-66,  Obadiah,  Malachi 
SHH,  243-248;  Mess  LP,  237-285;  Hist  Bib  IV,  64- 
73;  Sm  Twelve  II,  331-372;  Driver,  New  Century, 
"Malachi,"  285-329;  Horton,  New  Century,  "Oba- 
diah," pp.  185-193. 


96  APPENDIX 

Chapter  XI,  Prophetic-Apocalyptic  Voices 

SHH,  275-276,  287;  Mess  LP  289-354;  Hist  Bib  IV, 
174-175,  141-142;  Sm  Twelve  II,  375-541;  Horton, 
New  Century,  "Joel,"  79-114,  "Jonah,"  197-216; 
Driver,  New  Century,  "Zechariah  IX-XIV,"  227- 
282. 


Ill 

QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW 

1.  What  is  the  best  definition  of  a  prophet? 

2.  What  were  the  distinctive  functions  of  a  prophet 

among  the  Hebrews  ? 

3.  Trace  the  influences  which  led  to  the  develop- 

ment of  the  prophetic  order. 

4.  How  may  one  explain  the  great  influence  and  the 

numerical  strength  of  the  order. 

5.  Mention  several  notable  prophets  of  the  days 

before  Amos.     Why  were  Abraham  and  Moses 
called  prophets  ? 

6.  What  other  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  than 

the    sixteen   canonical   prophetic   books   may 
properly  be  classified  as  prophetical  and  why.'* 

7.  Judging  by  no  other  criteria  than  quality  and 

creativeness,  which  prophets  would  be  ranked 
as  major  prophets  ? 

8.  Account    for   Isaiah's   pre-eminence   among  the 

eighth  century  group  of  prophets. 

9.  Which  of  the  four  in  the  eighth  century  group 

brought  forward  the  idea  of  deepest  spiritual 
significance  ? 

10.  In  what  respects  did  the  seventh  century  group  of 

prophets  reverse  the  declarations  of  their  prede- 
cessors ? 

11.  Name   two   great   discoveries   in   religion   which 

Jeremiah  reached  and  through  what  process. 
97 


98  APPENDIX 

12.  What  three  great  services  did  Ezekiel  render  to 

the  Babylonian  exiles? 

13.  What  supremely  important  religious  idea  did  he 

formulate  ? 

14.  Who  was  the  first  prophet  with  a  real  missionary 

interpretation  of  Israel's  relationship  to  the 
world  ? 

15.  Why  did  that  note  cease  to  influence  the  Jewish 

people  after  a  little  ? 

16.  Justify  the  statement  that  Isaiah  40-55  is  the  high- 

water  mark  of  prophetic  thinking. 

17.  Distinguish  between  the  prophetic  and  the  apoc- 

alyptic view-points. 

18.  What  prophets  who  lived  prior  to  400  B.   C. 

showed  traces  of  the  apocalyptical  temper? 

19.  What  causes  encouraged  an  emphasis  on  apoca- 

lypse in  post-exilic  times? 

20.  How  did  the  prophets  transform  religion  from  a 

ritual  into  a  mighty  social  force  ? 

21.  Draw  out  the  whole  range  of  essential  prophetic 

thinking  in  such  a  series  of  statements  as  are 
found  on  page  27. 

22.  What  justifies  the  reverent  student  in  viewing  the 

book  of  Jonah  as  a  perfect  parable  about  God 
rather  than  an  episode  in  history? 

23.  What  other  examples  may  be  given  out  of  the 

Old  Testament  of  the  prophetically  religious 
use  of  imaginative  literature? 

24.  What  is  the  basis  for  concluding  that  the  whole 

book  of  Isaiah  includes  three  clearly  distin- 
guishable periods  of  prophetic  thinking? 

25.  What  were  the  outstanding  values  of  apocalyp- 

tical prophecy  such  as  Isaiah  24-27? 

26.  What  element  in  prophecy  seems  the  most  funda- 

mental and  characteristic? 


APPENDIX  99 

27.  Counting  each  distinct  section  of  the  prophetical 

writings,  how  many  prophetic  minds  should 
we  recognize  in  Hebrew  and  Jewish  history? 

28.  How  did  Hebrew  nationahsm  become  a  univer- 

salism  of  service  ? 

29.  Trace  the  growth  and  development  of  the  Messi- 

anic idea. 
80.     What  elements  give  enduring  value  to  the  pro- 
phetic writings  ? 

31.  What  are  the  most  important  passages  of  Old 

Testament  prophecy  which  describe  the  char- 
acter of  God.? 

32.  What  passages  prepare  the  way  for  the  thought 

of  an  intimate  relationship  with  God  or  suggest 
such  fellowship  specifically? 

33.  What  passages  emphasize  God's  share  in  human 

history  or  in  guiding  individual  destinies? 

34.  To  what  extent  can  you  sum  up  each  prophet's 

contributory  thinking  around  one  distinctive 
idea? 

35.  Which  among  the  prophets  had  a  clear  social 

message  ? 

36.  Find  four  passages  which  would  describe  blame- 

worthy social  conditions  of  to-day. 

37.  What  passages  do  you  regard  to  be  clearly  Mes- 

sianic ? 

38.  What  passages  set  forth  the  missionary  program  ? 

39.  What  is  the  prophetic  utterance  which   seems 

nearest  to  New  Testament  revelation  ? 

40.  Which  prophets  contributed  most  to  the  think- 

ing of  Jesus? 


IV 

SUBJECTS  FOR  RESEARCH  AND   CLASS 
DISCUSSION 

If  this  book  is  used  as  a  text-book  by  a  class,  the 
leader  may  find  it  profitable  to  devote  the  class  session 
to  the  discussion  of  the  important  themes  connected 
with  each  chapter.  The  following  lists  of  topics  for 
research  and  class  discussion  are  suggested  as  bringing 
out  some  of  the  most  essential  themes. 

Introduction  and  Chapter  I 
1.  The  growth  of  the  prophetic  order.  2.  The  specific 
contribution  of  each  prominent  pre-hterary  prophet  to  his 
time.  3.  The  conditions  which  initiated  literary  prophecy. 
4.  The  proof  in  the  book  of  Amos  (other  than  7:14)  that  he 
was  a  farmer.  5.  Similar  proof  that  Assyria  was  to  be  the 
agency  of  Divine  wrath. 

Chapter  II 
1.  The  most  probable  explanation  of  God's  revelation  of 
Himself  as  abiding  love  to  Hosea.  2.  The  distinctive 
personality  of  Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah.  3.  The  different 
way  in  which  each  was  summoned  to  prophetic  service. 
4.  The  outstanding  idea  of  God  which  dominated  the  think- 
ing of  each  prophet.  5.  How  Isaiah  supplemented  the 
thinking  of  Amos  and  Hosea. 

Chapter  HI 
1.  The  position  of  Isaiah  regarding  alliances.  2.  His 
reasons  for  believing  that  Jehovah  would  not  permit  Jerusa- 
lem to  be  destroyed.  3.  Micah's  personality  as  inferred 
from  his  prophecies.  4.  The  great  religious  ideas  of  the 
eighth-century  prophets.  5.  The  limitations  of  their  think- 
ing. 

100 


APPENDIX  101 

Chapter  IV 
1.  The  effect  of  the  persecutions  of  Manasseh's  reign  upon 
prophecy.  2.  The  occasion  for  the  unmeasured  denuncia- 
tion of  Jerusalem  by  Zephaniah.  3.  A  comparison  of  the 
personaHties  of  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah.  4.  The  spirit  in 
which  Jeremiah  accepted  prophetic  service.  5.  Their  con- 
nection with  Josiah's  reformation. 

Chapter  V 
1.  The  Biblical  justification  of  Nahum's  plea  for  ven- 
geance. 2.  The  influence  of  the  bitter  ostracism  of  the 
early  reign  of  Jehoiakim  upon  Jeremiah's  spiritual  convic- 
tions. 3.  Habakkuk's  philosophy  of  life.  4.  The  dis- 
tinctive contribution  of  each  prophet  to  the  nation's  distress- 
ing situation.  5.  Jeremiah's  explanation  of  the  rapid 
transfers  of  political  sovereignty. 

Chapter  VI 
1.  The  wisdom  of  Jeremiah's  advice  to  the  Babylonian 
captives.  2.  The  comparison  of  Ezekiel's  call  to  service 
with  that  of  Isaiah.  3.  The  skill  with  which  Ezekiel  altered 
the  conviction  of  the  exiles  concerning  God's  attitude  toward 
Jerusalem.  4.  The  spiritual  discoveries  of  Jeremiah. 
5.  A  comparison  of  the  seventh  century  prophetic  thinking 
with  that  of  the  eighth  century. 

Chapter  VII 
1.     A  comparison  of  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  and  Isaiah  as  influ- 
ential factors  in  Hebrew  life.     2.     The  symbolism  of  Ezekiel. 
3.     Ezekiel    the    pastor.     4.     Ezekiel's    greatest    prophecy. 
5.     His  supreme  contribution  to  religion. 

Chapter  VIII 
1.  The  general  effect  of  two  generations  of  Babylonian 
exile  upon  the  Hebrews.  2.  The  chapters  of  the  book  of 
Isaiah  which  belong  to  the  exile  or  later.  3.  The  reasons 
prophetically  given  for  the  deliverance  by  Cyrus.  4.  The 
program  announced  for  the  ransomed  people.  5.  How  the 
high-water  mark  of  religious  thinking  was  reached. 

Chapter  IX 
1.     The  contrast  between  the  personalities  and  the  methods 
of  Haggai  and  Zechariah.    2.    The  four  great  themes  of 


102  APPENDIX 

Haggai.  3.  A  comparison  of  Zechariah's  thinking  with 
that  of  Isaiah.  4.  The  symbolism  of  Zechariah.  5.  The 
apocalyptical  assertions  of  Haggai  and  Zechariah. 

Chapteb  X 

1.  The  noblest  prophetic  utterance  of  the  fifth  century. 
2.  The  religious  value  of  Obadiah.  3.  Causes  which  led 
gradually  to  religious  laxity  in  the  Judean  community.  4. 
Malachi's  analysis  of  the  situation  and  his  remedy.  5.  Fifth 
centvu-y  prophetic  thinking  compared  to  that  of  the  sixth 
century. 

Chapter  XI 

1.  Compare  the  attitude  of  Jonah  to  the  world  with  that 
of  Obadiah.  2.  Joel's  expectations  regarding  Jehovah's 
Day.  3.  The  comparison  of  prophecy  and  apocalypse. 
4.  The  religious  values  of  apocalypse.  5.  The  incom- 
pleteness of  prophecy  as  an  adequate  interpretation  of  religion. 

Chapter  XII 
1.  The  four  prophets  really  entitled  to  rank  as  major 
prophets.  2.  The  six  groups  under  which  all  prophets  may 
be  classified.  3.  The  essential  teaching  of  each  prophet 
about  God.  4.  The  inevitable  climax  of  Hebrew-Jewish 
religious  thinking  in  a  missionary  program.  5.  The  causes 
which  contributed  to  retire  this  program  to  the  background 
of  Jewish  thought. 


^jy;^^Sg8»m 


